(bdw-l-20) Finding Friendship
by Yemi Hikari
Summary: Soul Society was ripped apart by the war with the Quincy. The war ends up having a profound effect on the children on both sides. The solution the adults come up with to help ease tensions between the children is to form a Shinigami's Kids Society. This is my NaNoWriMo 2014 project as well as a project for Bleach Diversity Writing challenge. (Shinigami Kids Society Fanfic)
1. Outward View

Disclaimer – I don't own Bleach. This is both my NaNoWriMo project for 2014 as well as part of the Bleach Writing Divercity challenge. It is for l-20, which is to write over 100k for a multichapter or series over one NaNoWriMo and the month before/after. Special dedication for this series also goes to Lucanite who wrote _Shinigami Kids Society_ as she and that work are a major inspirations for this piece. Story diverges from canon plot as of chapter 603.

Finding Friendship has been in the plans for around four years. The story was always planned to be one of the AU routes I would take with Softly Snowing. Back then there were not nearly as many young characters in the series, but now there are the Quincy. There are still places these characters are needed to round out the cast to balance things out and fill roles that none of the canon characters can. This said... for a certain one-sided crush to be reciprocated... not going to happen.

**Finding Friendship  
><em>Outward View<em>**

The Shinigami academy shut down its doors when the newest _the__m_ attacked the Seireitei. _The__m_ was the name used for the latest enemy that threatened the peace of Soul Society until the students could find themselves getting more information about the events that transpired while they were sent to stay with their families. The leave of absence felt like an early vacation from school despite having heard the commotion of battle near the academy walls.

Hana's mind was a blur as the June weather beat down on her brown head of hair. Every week she returned home to her family in order to tell them about what occurred at the academy and what she learned despite how basic a first year students lessons happened to be. This time she was returning home to announce that the Shinigami were fighting with a new _them_. Her mind didn't comprehend what this meant beyond the fact everyone was excited about the news.

Her feet beat a quick pace back to the family home without out right running when her right foot slipped on loose gravel on the path. Hana's body began to fall towards the ground as the palm of her hands shot forward to catch her young body. The instinctive action didn't stop her from scrapping her nose on the ground. The brown haired girl sat up and rubbed her nose in irritation as she knelt on the ground with her legs sticking out each way.

"Kamoku-san?"

Hana's eyes darted up to see a boy from the same small village staring at her. "Terunori-san?"

"Don't act like you're surprised to see me when we do in fact live in the same area of the Rukogani." The boy's hand reached down to help her up. The two young academy students proceeded to walk back to their village in the Junrinan district. The fighting sounds that occurred within the Seireitei prior to the evacuation of the students became forgotten with the peaceful sounds of the district. The place lived up to the name "_lush forest peace"_.

The two parted near Hana's house and she stepped up through the sliding door. She slipped off her sandals and greeted her mother. "Hana... weren't you home just a few days ago."

"They sent the academy students home."

"The academy never sends the students home." Her mother looked towards the Seireitei with worry. "Something must be wrong."

The young academy student brushed away any thought that something could be wrong and instead thought about going back to the academy later on. She didn't even worry when a fiery glow lit up the sky. Terunori showed up around this time and sat on the wooden porch with her. "You saw the sky, right Kamoku-san?"

"The sky was quiet pretty."

"Something didn't feel right about that sky."

"Are you worried about what is going on as well?"

Terunori frowned. "I don't know. If the Shinigami lose then I won't be able to become the youngest captain ever like I want to. Actually... if someone else ends up taking over then that means the entire government system will be over thrown."

"I don't understand how that kind of thing works. We're kids, so we're not expected to know those kind of things."

"Not know? We're supposed to be Shinigami. I mean... we're supposed to be training to be Shinigami. How can we not care."

**M**

A dull colored sunlight beat down through the clouded windows of the room where the head captain of the Gotei Thirteen sat looking over the maps for reconstructing the Seireitei. His fingers drummed on the table and his mouth pushed tight. A knock came at the door of the room and a sigh escaped his lips as he sat backwards in his chair. His gray colored eyes looked at the entrance as a familiar face with white hair entered. "Jushiro! Do you bring any good news?"

Ukitake twisted around from closing the door to the room before looking up at the clouded windows. "I see you're doing work instead of napping for once."

"Come on. I'm the head captain after all. It would look quite awful if I didn't put my foot forward to try and look like I was doing something productive."

Ukitake slipped into the chair near Kyoraku and opened up his papers. "I'm not understanding why you didn't have Nanao take care of this or even Okikiba."

Kyoraku's fingers continued tapping on the table. "Genshiro is taking care of issues at the academy for me. I'll assign him more as we figure out what each of the divisions need. My Nanao-chan is spending some time taking care of the business in the tenth division with Ichigo." Silence fell over the room. The head taicho took a deep breath. "I guess we should start with that order of buisness. How are the captains and fukutaicho who were turned into zombies doing?"

Ukitake let out a deep sigh as he flipped his papers. "Kurotsuchi says there should be no physical side effects for those who have been turned to zombies."

"You sound like you have problems with what he is saying."

"Don't you have problems with what he is saying? There is always a catch with what he says. His medicines always have some kinds of side effects. He can't hold back on using others as experiments. I can't see him as letting them go so easily. Since they are dead... or were dead... so I don't think he sees them as human anymore and feels he can experiment on them to his hearts content."

"There is that problem. The solution is to have Urahara look over all of them. He plans on doing it anyways."

Ukitake took another deep breath and looked at the paper again. "All four of them are under observation in the building part of the forth division. Make that five... one of the Quincy happens to be under the same observation. Otoribashi and Muguruma Taicho aren't acting like they are alive. Rangiku happens to be semi-responsive. She's worried about Shiro-chan."

Kyoraku took a deep breath. "Tell me about how our young taicho is doing."

"Is he alive?"

The head taicho's mouth opened as his gray eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"We don't understand how that one Quincy's powers work."

"Does it matter how that Quincy's powers work? He has a living body, does he not?" Kyoraku's mouth twisted up even more into a frown. "Is this something you and I are going to disagree with?"

Ukitake took a deep breath. "I agree that the body I see in front of my looks like Shiro-chan."

Kyoraku found his chest tightening. "There is something you observed that bothers you."

"When I walked into the room they've provided for..." The white haired taicho swallowed. "... I walked into the room and saw a child curled up in the corner of the room on top of the bed Isane provided for him. This child didn't respond to anything I said to him and kept is head buried ."

"Jushiro... if you treat him as if he isn't himself..."

"I know. He won't recover." Ukitake closed his papers. "As much as I want to help this child, tt feels like we've lost him forever."

"Maybe this is for the best." Kyoraku folded his hands in front of his mouth.

"What do you mean?" A cough escaped from Ukitake's mouth and he reached his hand up. "We aren't going to give up on him are we? I may have this problem seeing Hitsugaya Toshiro as Hitsugaya Toshiro, but I certainly don't wish to give up on him."

"What I mean is perhaps we can use this to our advantage." Kyoraku leaned back and waved his hand. "I know you're not seeing how this can be a positive thing. Normally you're the one who ends up seeing the positive light in these things." The head taicho pulled his hands behind his head. "How to put this..."

Ukitake shook his head and opened the papers again. "The Quincy girl is... was... in with three of the other Quincy girls we retrieved."

"You say was..."

"At this point in time she is restrained in another room." The corner of the white haired taicho's mouth twitched. "Apparently she doesn't get along with Quincy any better then she does Shinigami."

"So placing her in with Hitsugaya Taicho would be a bad idea." Kyoraku watched as Ukitake paled. "Rangiku is in with the two older captains who were turned into zombies."

"Yes..." The look on Ukitake's face remained horrified. He took a deep breath. "We can't leave her in isolation. Placing her with Hitsugaya... I know we want the Quincy who are left to get along with the Shinigami... but..." The man took a deep breath. "She really hates Shinigami."

"I was hoping though she would be willing to talk and interact with Hitsugaya Taicho."

Ukitake took a deep breath. "Yes. That is exactly what is going to happen when she wasn't willing to talk with the young Quincy females who were in the same room as her. Nope. I don't think that will work at all." A hand darted up the back of his head. "We don't exactly have any where else to put her. We could use the place she's been placed into as a storage area until forth division is rebuilt."

"Apparently he isn't going to talk back to her... not that he talked back much when he was himself." Kyoraku's mouth creased. "From the sounds of what you're saying there is a high chance this will end badly. I honestly wasn't serious about placing them in the same room if there wasn't a chance for them not to get along. Problem is..."

Ukitake took a deep breath. "...we do have the problem of space." The white haired taicho flipped his papers. "That Quincy who had the ability to turn people into zombies is placed into a jail cell."

"If she doesn't have her powers then what happens to be the issue?"

"She smashed the head in of the young Quincy she turned into a zombie."

"Perhaps I should make my own rounds of the forth division patients and prisoners. I know you wished to be tasked with this, but I think I may need to get my own idea of what is going on here."

"That honestly wouldn't be a bad idea." Ukitake closed the paper. "This said... I've heard that the academy area will be ready for reopening soon. It will be a couple of days before Soifon will be mobile, but a couple of weeks until Isane says she can go back to duty. Most of the others will be out sooner." The man paused for awhile. "Things are going to be rough, especially for the young Shinigami."

**M**

Hana couldn't help but think Terunori's fears were unwarranted when the announcement that the academy was opening back came. She headed back to the academy with a smile on her face expecting things to remain the same. The sunshine beat down on her face. Her smile fell when she stepped through the gate to see the mass amount of destruction in the Seireitei. Terunori followed close behind her with his bag swung over his shoulder. "I told you it wasn't good."

"Why would people want to do this?" Hana stuck close to the young male as she looked around nervously at the destruction.

"The only thing I know is this enemy was problematic enough for the Shinigami to evacuate the academy students. The place was under lock down after we left."

The two continued to walk. Rumors came to their ear that every single captain ended up injured during the war. The sunlight that once felt so warm no longer did. One of Hana's hands reached out to grab Terunori's sleeve. As they progressed towards the academy area they found the destruction to be less pronounced. The academy itself was a stark contrast. The two headed straight to the classroom where the other first years were gathering.

There they heard the rumor that the head captain had been killed during the war. Another rumor said that children had been hurt during the war. Hana turned to Terunori who was sitting near her. "The Shinigami wouldn't allow any children to be hurt, would they?"

"I don't know. I should ask them... they might know."


	2. Self-Gluttony

**Finding Friendship  
><strong>_**Self-Gluttony**_

Liltotto sat on the bed the Shinigami had provided her with her arms crossed. Her mouth twisted up into a frown and one of her small feet twitched as she watched what went on around her. The small Quincy female found herself separated from Gigi when the Shinigami came to gather them up. This caused her not to speak to her captors as they stuck her in a building to make sure she was secure. The place was lonely without the other girls.

She sat there in the silence at first thinking that the Quincy would in fact win and that the Shinigami were only holding out until his majesty won. The blond haired Quincy worried her lip as time passed. "_Do you really want his majesty to win? He honestly doesn't care whether you live or die. He also took your power and Gigi's._"

Liltotto took a deep breath. "I hope Meni is grateful for me leaving her someone hidden. That means she hasn't lost her powers. I bet Candy will no longer have her powers if she's still alive."

The small female shrunk down into the bed and looked out the window. The window was still wet from the rain and dingy from the battle going on. It was a miracle that this particular building had survived. This caused the small female to sink down into the bed while her hands clenched the bed sheets in frustration. Everything had a dingy looked compared to the quarters they had been provided. Everything felt like a lie despite the fact Accutrone said his majesty hated lies.

"This place isn't very nice."

Liltotto sat up when she heard the voice of Meni being brought into the room. The girl's maroon colored locks cascaded over her shoulders onto her ample boosum that she crossed her arms under. "Meni!"

"Liltotto-chan! Why did you have to be so mean to me?" The girl turned towards her with her eyes watering and her lip pouting.

The young Quincy crossed her arms and then her small feet. "Seriously Mini. You were trying to kill me, so I had to knock you out."

"Did they tell you that the Shinigami won?"

The corners of Liltotto's twisted down into a deeper frown. "What do you mean?"

"That's how they convinced me to go with them. That Ichigo person managed to defeat..." Mininas paused as a frown spread across her face. "I don't understand how that is even possible. You must believe that we lost as well, otherwise you wouldn't be here. Have you seen anyone else?"

"Yeah. I'm here because they convinced me that we lost." Two gold eyes looked away. "_I'm not going to tell her that his majesty stole my powers and that I'm now powerless._" Her arms wrapped across her chest. "I was with Gigi for a bit, but we ended up separated. I think that they were taking Gigi away to some sort of prison area."

"Why?"

"I think they were disturbed by the fact Gigi smashed Bambi's skull in."

"So... Bambietta-chan..."

"Yeah... she's gone. She's gone for good this time."

"I don't think we should have let Gigi kill her in the first place."

"If we didn't let Gigi turn her into a zombie then his majesty would have killed her for messing up."

"Really? I don't think his majesty would have been that cruel."

"What would you know."

Liltotto hoped that the room would become quiet then. Meninas however looked around eying the stark decorum. "Why do we have to be stuck in this kind of place? The beds and pillow aren't very comfy. The room isn't very pretty."

"We're prisoners Meni... we shouldn't complain." She turned her head to so she couldn't look the other girl in the eye. "I wonder who else happens to be alive?"

"Do you mean to say nobody's left?"

"We'll have to wait and see." The small female pulled one leg up to her chest. The tension in the room didn't leave despite the silence. Every so often she would turn her head to see Meinas sitting on her bed with her legs pulled to her chest and her pillow clutched in her arms. Sleep was out of the question. The door to the room opened and a young Shinigami dressed in the medical putfit peeked into the room. "What do you want?"

"How are the two of you doing?"

"How do you think?"

"Ahh..." The male Shinigami closed his eyes, but continued to smile. "We have a couple more patients to be brought in."

"Don't you mean prisoners?"

"No. I honestly mean patients."

The two girls watched as the young Shinigami stepped aside and Candace was brought in on a stretcher and placed onto the third bed in the room. The two couldn't help but notice that the girl's right arm had been removed. Her face was also pale as she lay there unconscious. They set her gently onto the bed. Meninas looked at the forth bed in the room. "Do you think the last bed will be for Gigi?"

"I think Gigi is still going to be stuck in a prison cell, where ever that may be."

"But why? Aren't we prisoners as well?" Meninas pouted at her. "You also said Bambietta-chan is gone."

"That's because Gigi smashed in the back of her head. I told you that."

Candace's mouth opened up. "They may not know what to do with us, but they don't see us as prisoners. They've never seen us as enemies. That's just stupid."

"Are you feeling all right?"

"No. That Shinigami that defeated me is the one who brought me to their healers to be healed. That's just..." Candace's one good arm raised up and grabbed her forehead. "This is all just so stupid, having out enemy take care of us. It's stupid too that we weren't strong enough to beat them!"

Liltotto sunk down farther into her bed. "Yeah... it is stupid." She looked up at the ceiling. "So... they pulled you out of the rubble?"

"I don't know. I was unconscious most of the time. I just know I woke up for a brief period on that stupid captain's back being carried. I hate those stupid Shinigami."

**M**

Forth division no longer existed as a physical building and Isane found herself scrambling to find the things she needed to treat her patients. Something told her that the danger from the Quincy no longer existed. The tall fukutaicho moved to create a space that patients and supplies could be brought to. There weren't many buildings that remained structurally sound. She found one building that was small.

She then found members from her division including Hanataro and had them begin to set up tents outside of the building and beds inside. She took a deep breath as she looked at the place. "_The inside is for the more severe patients and supplies, while the patients with less needs go outside under the tents._"

The tall fukutaicho's eyes widened and her mouth curled up into a deepened frown when she saw some of the patients being brought in were Quincy. Ukitake brought in a female Quincy that was not much bigger then Yachiru. The instructions he gave her was to keep her imprisoned within the building despite the fact she wasn't a patient with higher priorities in regards to their health. They brought in others including one with a missing arm.

Her stomach lurched when she found out so many of the higher ups had been killed, turned into zombies by the enemy and brought back. She didn't question the fact the taicho of the twelfth division brought them back and simply set about placing them in rooms so they were comfortable with each other. A few of the forth division members who showed up to help worried that the zombie condition was contagious which caused her to place the two taicho and Rangiku together.

She couldn't though bring herself to place the young taicho in the same room as the adults despite the fact there was room for a forth person. She instead picked a smaller room that would hold two beds. She watched as Toshiro headed into the corner and curled up, making her wonder what exactly effect being turned into a zombie would mentally have on him. Her examination and treatment of Ikkau and Yumichika caused her to worry the child taicho.

A young Quincy with a head injury was brought to her after she treated the two members of the eleventh division. The injury ended up being no easy task to take care of. Nemu stopped by during this time and told her the Quincy who turned the higher level Shinigami into zombies also turned the young Quincy in front of her into a Quincy. She took a deep sigh and wondered what kind of life those girls lived. She called Hanataro in to help her treat the young girl. Letting out a deep sigh she found herself unable to understand the war that occurred.

**M**

Lilotto sat with one leg pulled up to her chest. None of the girls wanted to speak about what occurred as the realization that they lost was slowly sinking in. "_I knew before either one of them. I also may be more believing of us losing due to the fact I've lost my powers and know that his majesty tried taking all of our lives._"

The tall fukutaicho slipped into the room. "How are you three doing? We will be having a forth being brought in when she finally wakes up from her surgery. Is there anything I can get you?"

"How about a good stiff medication to kill the pain?" Candace saluted her from her bed.

"As soon as we manage to find some pain medication then I will be sure to bring you some."

Menias frowned and held her pillow tighter. "So... no cuter bedding?"

"I wish we could get you some cuter things, but it will have to wait." The female looked right at the girl. "If it's any consolation I'll be sure to speak to the head of the woman's society if we can't come up with something better for you girls."

"Woman's society?" Liltotto raised an eyebrow

"Yes. We have a men's society and a woman's society." The woman looked her right in the eye, causing Liltotto to turn her head away. "Is there anything you would want?"

"Something good to eat, preferably something sweet."

"That could be a problem as your jaw is still healing. I'll try to think of something sweet that I can scrounge from my supplies that you can enjoy as well as eat with that injury."

"Why bother? She can just use her ability?" Candace snapped.

"No using abilities! You girls need to be resting and saving your energy, not wasting it on random things."

"Is that really any of your business." The Quincy female pushed herself up with her one arm and glared at the fukutaicho as an electrical current began to snap around her.

"Sorry. It's my job to take care of your wellness." The woman held up her hands and backed out. "The other girl will be in here soon."

Liltotto plopped her head on the pillow. "Seriously... this completely sucks."

Meninas frowned. "Why don't they have one of those too?"

"What do you mean why don't they have one of those? She told you that she can't find cute stuff for us just yet Meninas." The smallest female rolled her eyes.

"I don't mean that. I mean... why don't they have a kid's society?"

"Maybe it has to do with the stupid Shinigami don't use kids while the Quincy do." Liltotto snapped.

Candace placed a hand on her head. "Why do we even care?"

A knock came at the door and the young male stuck his head in. "Hello. We're bringing in another patient."

A pillow flew from Candace's bed and hit the young Shinigami in the face. "Seriously... stop calling us patients!"

The young Shinigami agreed to easily and moved aside so that the girl could be brought in. Liltotto's face paled when she saw the person wasn't in fact Gigi, but another person.

Meninas frowned as she saw the person being brought in on the stretcher. "I thought you said Bambietta-chan was dead."

Candace sat up again and let out a disgusted ticking sound. "I wish!"

"I thought she was. Gigi did after all bash her head in. I came across them both after she did that."

"Bambietta-chan's going to be grumpy when she wakes up. I'm not sure I want to be around her if she has a headache."

Candace turned to look at the wall. "Nobody likes being around her. She's an absolute spoiled brat."


	3. Don't Wanna Die

**Finding Friendship  
><strong>_**Don't Wanna Die**_

"_I don't want to die..._"

One particular thought played through her head over and over again.

"_I don't want to die._" Pain ricochet through the back of her head and her sight flashed colors. For a brief period of time if felt as if she wasn't there, but then the pain and flashing lights came back. Her eyes opened finally to look around a small room with makeshift lighting. A young Shinigami came near her and she narrowed her eyes. "_He looks funny. If this situation wasn't so dire I'd be laughing at him right now. Who is he?"_

"I'm glad you pulled through. The fact you had a head injury meant you might not have pulled through. This means you wanted to survive."

"Shinigami."

"Ah... yes. I'm a Shinigami. My name is Yamada Hanataro. Pleased to meet you."

"_Why?_" She closed her eyes trying to not think about the situation. "_Does it matter if I'm alive?_" She found herself falling back to sleep until someone nudged her awake.

Her violet eyes opened up to see a rather tall Shinigami in front of her. Her mouth creased into a frown. "_What have those idiots done?_"

"We're going to transfer you so that you're with the other girls."

She let out a deep sigh and closed her eyes. She felt the Shinigami lift her up onto a gurney. "_What __have__ those idiots done? Then again... should I be asking when their idea of taking care of me is to kill me._" She held back a swallow so that the Shinigami wouldn't think she was intimidated. "_I'm lucky to be alive. They could kill me at any time._" The thought that came next was, "_I don't want to die._"

The movement of the gurney caused her to fall back asleep. She opened her violet eyes to see Meninas looking down at her. "You're awake Bambietta-chan."

Bambietta's two violet eyes blinked a couple of eyes before narrowing in anger. "Not that you would care. Seriously..."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

The violet haired Quincy closed her eyes and her mouth twisted up into a deep frown. "_How can she not know what I mean? Wait... this is Meni we're talking about._"

Liltotto's voice pierced the silence. "She doesn't care about us and would rather have us leave her alone."

Meninas began to mutter under her breath and sniffle. The corners of Bambietta's mouth twisted up into a frown as she tried to sleep. She found herself unable to fall back asleep and turned over onto her side. She found her bed across from Candace's and saw that the girl was sitting up slightly. Candace turned and glared at her. "What are you looking at?"

Bambietta's violet eyes narrowed and her mouth twisted up even more. "I have to look in your direction because of where my bed is located." The two glared at each other for a few minutes more. The violet haired girl noticed Candace was missing an arm and turned to face the wall. "_Seriously... what happened. Where is Gigi... not that I really want to know. I don't want her near me._"

She heard the sound of Meninas plopping back down onto her bed. "What are we going to do since we ended up defeated?"

"How should I know?" Candace snapped.

Bambietta sat up despite the fact her head hurt badly. "What do you _mean_ we were defeated?"

Liltotto glared at her while folding her arms across her chest. "What else can we mean? We ended up defeated by the Shinigami. Why else would you think that we're in this situation? By this situation I mean in the care of the Shinigami. You're an idiot like you always are. I mean... you should have known that we lost."

The violet haired female held up her finger and pointed it at the air. She quickly flicked the finger towards a glass of water near Liltotto causing the glass to explode. Meninas turned her head towards the violet haired girl. "Come on Bambietta-chan. Be nice."

"Nice? What were you guys doing while I was stuck under Gigi's control? How is it that we ended up losing this badly? If she hadn't..."

"What would you have done?" Candace folded her one good arm across her chest.

"Seriously... you failed in your fight and would have been killed off like Cang-du." Lilotto rolled her eyes."

"Exactly who do you think I am!"

"A spoiled brat..." Candace piped up. "... who isn't going to be the favorite anymore."

Bambietta flicked her fingers at the door of the room. Candace's eyes widened while Meninas blinked a couple of times in confusion. Liltotto instead looked away at the window above her head. The rather tall Shinigami came hurtling towards the room. "What do you think you're doing! What did I say about using your powers and over exerting yourselves!"

Liltotto let out a chuckle. "There's no reasoning with Bambietta-chan."

The violet haired female shot up from the bed and flicked a few orbs at the window above Liltotto's head causing it to shatter. Isane took a deep breath. "What are you doing? You could hurt someone."

"I don't care! You're all stupid Shinigami! I can't believe I lost to stupid Shinigami!"

A small figure darted in from behind Isane. The next thing Bambietta knew a green liquid was dropped onto her forehead and she felt her limbs go limp. A few of the Shinigami came to haul her off while the young Shinigami who she had thought to laugh at early examined the window for repairs. She soon found herself restrained in place that would be better off as a supply closet.

**M**

People came and went from the closet she found herself stuck into. Every time one of the Shinigami came into the room she found herself foaming at the mouth. She kept ranting and raving at them about the fact she shouldn't have lost. Her arms were restrained at her sides so she couldn't do anything with her ability, much how the one Shinigami prevented her from using her powers with the bombs.

This particular person came quite a few times only to be chased away by Isane insisting that he wasn't allowed to interfere with the patients. "She's an experiment. I did after all bring her back from the dead and being a zombie."

Bambietta's stomach always curdled when she saw the man after that. There was another man with a white head of hair and teal eyes. She felt calmer when he was around, but kept up the ranting behavior. "_I'm not going down without a fight. I'm not going to die._"

A voice at the back of her neck nagged her. "_Who does he remind you of? Why is it that you don't want to die?_"

"_Shut up. I don't like thinking about that._" Being by herself didn't prevent her from thinking about certain things. She couldn't help but remember a familiar face with teal eyes and snow white hair and a smile that always brightened her day. "_What does it matter? I don't want to die._"

The man eventually came back, the frown on his face. A man with a beard came with him. This man wore a pink kimono over his shoulders and a straw hat upon his head. He tilted his head down to greet her. "How are you doing young lady?"

"I would do a lot better if I could kill some of you Shinigami!" Bambietta felt like spitting at the man. "Let me out of here!"

"I can't do that if you don't behave." The man took a deep breath. "Do you know who I am?"

"Do you know who I am?" The young Quincy female retorted back. Her violet eyes glared at him.

"No... I don't know who you are." The darker haired man continued to smile at her. "I am Kyoraku Shunshui. I am the head captain of the Gotei Thirteen, captain of the first division. I wasn't always the captain of the first division. Who are you?"

Bambietta's mouth clamped shut as she glared at the man. The man with white hair's mouth suddenly smiled. "Come now. We really don't want to harm you. I am Ukitake Jushiro. Why do you hate Shinigami so much."

"_Jushiro... what ever._" Bambietta twisted her head away. "The Shinigami took something special away from me?"

"Do you mean the war two-hundred years ago?" Kyoraku blinked a couple of times. "Surely you're too young to remember that war."

The young female felt her facial features switch from shock. Upon realization she twisted her head so she no longer had to look at them. Her body tensed up and her mouth became a deep frown. Despite trying to hide her facial expression the two taicho did in fact notice the fact she flinched. Ukitake spoke in a soft voice. "The situation with the Shinigami didn't occur two-hundred years ago, but instead a date that is much closer to these events."

"It's really none of your business."

"I guess not." Kyoraku titled his hat down and let out a chuckle. "I like you're spunk. You would fit right in with the Shiba clan I think. Anyways..." The man took a deep breath. "We wish to place you in a room with one of our young Shinigami."

"I hate Shinigami." Bambietta tried not to see them out of the corner of her eye. "We have nothing in common. I also don't want company.

"Please. This situation may be beneficial to yourself. He's the type of companion who doesn't say much to others even under normal circumstances unless he has something important to say. He's not the type to bother people either." There was something sad about Ukitake'ss eyes.

Kyoraku chuckled. "He's not one for company either."

"Shunsui..." The white haired captain shook his head. "Come along now." The man took a deep sigh and smiled at her. "He does have something in common with you." He watched as two violet eyes brightened with curiosity. "He was also turned into a zombie like yourself."

Bambietta's face fell. "So you're going to shove a couple of freaks in together? Is this what you're thinking?"

"Yes." Kyoraku laughed. "You could say that."

"Shunsui... seriously. Can't you handle this situation with more tact?" Ukitake took a deep breath and turned his head towards the small female. "This young Shinigami isn't responding to anyone right now. Normally as we've said he isn't very talkative with people. You know better then any of us what he may be going through."

"I'm not some babysitter, nor some nursemaid." The girl looked away.

"You would though be allowed out of your restraints and have a quiet room. The only interruptions would be when the members of the forth division come in and check in you. We can add a divider to the room if you would feel more comfortable around a male."

"Are you implying that I can't handle myself?" Bambietta narrowed her eyes. "I can take care of myself around males very well. Ask anybody."

"Actually... considering who the young male happens to be that isn't an issue." Ukitake took a deep sigh and said something else. She heard what he had to say despite the fact he meant to say it under his breath. "He's the one more likely to be uncomfortable with the situation."

Kyoraku sighed. "I know that... just..." The head taicho turned his head to see that Bambietta's attention was caught. "I think she heard us."

"It is after all a small space." The small female opened her mouth. "I'll do it. No divider though. I don't need it. As I said... I can very well hold my own."

The two males let out a deep sigh and looked at each other in frustration.

**M**

"As far as I'm concerned the only option is to place her with Hitsugaya Taicho or give her to me for an experiment."

Kyoraku didn't like where the conversation with Mayuri was going. The man's antics were the kind that drove the new head taicho up the wall. "You're only saying these are the two options because you wish to use her as an experiment."

"You say this as if I expect the two not to get along with each other and that leaves the option of you turning the girl over to me."

"Isn't this how it is?" One of the head taicho's brown eyebrows went up.

"I actually believe that the two _can_ get along quite well. I believe the term for how well is 'quite famously'."

Kyoraku frowned as he placed his cusped hands to his mouth. "I take it there is something you're not telling me. … I also take it that either way this ends up being experiment for you."

"I don't know what you mean."

Kyoraku waved his hand to dismiss the man. Taking a deep breath he decided to visit this girl with Ukitake. The head taicho honestly didn't know what to expect. He couldn't help but feel there was something strangely familiar with the girl when he met her. Convincing her to transfer to the room wasn't easy either until Ukitake tried telling him something so she couldn't hear. Something told him the girl heard.

Reluctantly he removed the binding from the girl. She followed between the two Shinigami taicho to the small room. A frown spread across her face. "The room is small." She walked over to the bed and flopped onto the mattress. "There is more room in here though then that closet or even with the girls. The beds are bigger and nicer as well."

Her head turned to the small figure on the other bed to say something. Her mouth clamped shut instead of saying something snarky. The child's head was buried so that only a few strands of white hair peeked through. The girl's violet eyes stared at him and her skin paled as if she had seen a ghost. Ukitake's eyebrows rose up with worry. "Something the matter? You're acting like you recognize him."

"No... you did after all say that both of us ended up being zombied after all. "


	4. Shinigami Thieves

**Finding Friendship  
><strong>_**Shinigami Thieves**_

The feeling of death and coldness wouldn't escape the young Shinigami's mind. The battle left no scars on his young body, but the emotional scars kept digging themselves in deeper and deeper. The young child found himself trying to wrap his mind around the memories that flashed past his mind. Toshiro felt he could deal with the physical pain that Mayuri put him through as well as the torture of repeating a scenario over and over in his mind.

He couldn't though deal with the memories of inflicting injuries on his comrades. Toshiro also couldn't shake the unsettling feeling that deep down he enjoyed hurting people. The very thought made his stomach nauseated and caused the smell of bile to reach his nose. He felt like he was caged like a monster both physically and mentally. On top of the unsettling thought that he enjoyed hurting others there was also the unsettling thought that he was simply a weapon.

Mentally things were fuzzy in regards to what happened after Mayuri gave him the antidote. The first solid memory was sitting in one of the medical tents for a physical examination as he watched Isane and the other forth division members bustle about. He found himself ignored for the most part. He saw for a brief moment the shadow of his captor... the one who had turned him into a zombie... being taken into another tent with another person much shorter. Eventually the two were separated.

Isane bustled in and examined him by carefully removing the clothing. She carefully placed the clothing back on him and shook her head. "I don't see any injuries on your body. Still... they're having us confine you inside the building."

"_Why?_" The young taicho felt his stomach lurch at this question and suddenly the realization that he feared the answer seeped into his thoughts. Isane led him away to a small room that was ten by ten. A rather large bed was on the side.

Isane placed her hands on his shoulders. "Get some rest. Those clothes don't look comfortable for sleeping in, so place them to the side."

Two teal eyes examined the room before slinking back into the corner of the bed. He didn't even bother to remove the boots on his feet and simply pulled in to himself. "_Who am I?_" A bony hand rubbed the back of his head nervously. "_Why am I so worried about who I am? Don't I know..._" A dreadful thought crossed his mind then. "_... no, I've never known. I don't think I want to know._"

Ukitake and others came and went. Toshiro honestly wasn't sure how to react towards them. His hands tightened their grip on his legs whenever someone came into the room as all his thoughts began to race. Towards the end of the day a new person was brought in by Ukitake and Kyoraku. He didn't pay said person any mind as he wasn't interested in interacting with anyone.

This person presented a presence that felt warm and comforting, and yet he knew this person wasn't Matsumoto Rangiku. Their reiatsu seemed to pull at his in a manner that seemed familiar, and yet he also knew he didn't know the person. Something Ukitake said caught his attention slightly. "Something the matter? You're acting like you recognize him."

"No... you did after all say that both of us ended up being zombied after all."

After awhile the older taicho left. Hyorinmaru finally began to speak in the back of his mind. "_You should talk to her. She may know what you're going through._"

Toshiro peeked a bright teal eye out from other his arms. The girl had turned her head so she was sleeping which meant he couldn't only see her violet head of hair. Despite the fact he knew his companion was female, the usual panic that set in when he shared a room with any female other then Rangiku didn't set in. The young taicho lowered his arms as he realized the nasty thoughts that rattled his brain simply weren't charging through anymore.

He swung his feet over the edge of the bed and removed the boots. He thought at first to remove the jacket, but shook his head. Despite the warmth in the room there was still the feeling of coldness that he didn't like. He stood up and pulled back the covers before sliding into the bed to sleep.

**M**

She couldn't pass up the opportunity to tease a Shinigami when she found out that her companion had issues with females much how a female would normally have issues with a male sharing the same space. Despite the fact she didn't like the idiotic chatter of the girls, she also didn't like being left alone. This companion promised to be a quiet companion as well, which in itself was promising. The two captains stepped into the room.

The first thing she felt was a familiar reiatsu that her mind brushed off as coincidence. She walked into the room with a smile and plopped herself down onto the bed and prepared herself for the first teasing remark. What her bright violet eyes startled her. What she saw in front of her was a young man not dressed in a Shinigami uniform, but the tight fitting uniform of a Sternritter. She chalked that up as one of Gigi's sick pranks.

Examining the other child in the room caused her to see the white shoots of hair sticking out. Her mind mentally froze. Ukitake spoke up in a kind manner then... though she was sure he was trying to irk things out of her. "Something the matter? You're acting like you recognize him."

"No... you did after all say that both of us ended up being zombied after all." The two captains left.

"_Are you surprised to see him of all people?_"

"_Him? It can't be him. This is some sick joke of those Shinigami to rile me up."_

"_How did they find out though? "_

"_How should I know?"_

"_If it isn't him and a trick, perhaps you should kill him?_" Bambietta opened her mouth to say something to the voice in her head. "_You can't kill someone that reminds you of him, can you._"

"_Those cruel Shinigami! I'll make them pay!_" Bambietta turned over onto her back and fell asleep.

As she slept she dreamed Liltotto climbed into bed with her. A frown creased her face as she knew she never let anyone do such a thing and it was so out of character for the younger girl. Her eyes snapped open and her breath tightened as she startled awake. The mattress next to her was dented slightly and she felt a warm breath on the back of her neck. There was a cooling sensation as if the presence was cooling down her usual flare. The fact someone sneaked into bed with her bothered her and she slowly turned over.

Her bright violet eyes widened as she saw that the companion from the other bed had moved to be lying next to her. The boy was fast asleep and didn't seem to notice that she was awake. A white lock of hair fell in front of his face and she found herself tempted to brush back the lock gently. Instead she raised her foot up and kicked the unsuspecting youth in the stomach and knocked him to the ground. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

She moved to the edge of the bed and noticed that the young child was rubbing his head. He didn't at first respond due to the fact he was still groggy from sleep. One hand reached up to rub his eyes only for realization to hit him. He looked up at her and she saw the bright teal eyes. Bambietta's breath drew in deep as the boy's cheeks suddenly flushed red. The bright teal eyes quickly disappeared from sight as the boy bowed his head to the ground.

"I'm sorry! I'm so, very, very sorry! I really didn't mean to do that!"

"Didn't mean to?" Bambietta swung her legs over the edge. The comment rattled her. "How can you not mean to?"

"I'm sorry. I have nightmares if I don't sleep with someone at night. I just... I didn't realize." The boy titled his head slightly as he came up, only to go back into groveling on the ground. "I am so sorry! I've only ever done this with Matsumoto. And Ichimaru when he was there too I guess. I always assumed it was because she was my legal guardian in the Gotei Thirteen. I don't know why I did what I did."

Bambietta swallowed. "_It really is him. I don't know how it could be him, as I very well remember..._" She looked away from the boy. "_I hate seeing him like this._" Her legs crossed. "You're such a wuss."

Her violet eyes looked down to see that the boy had stopped groveling and was now looking at her with a rather hurt expression on his face. He sat up into the traditional kneeling position with his hands on his knees. "I really am sorry."

Bambietta took a deep breath. "Sorry? You're supposed to be dead."

She watched as the color drained from the boy's face. His voice strained as he spoke with her. "You want me dead?"

"I didn't say that you moron."

"Yes you did." The boy pushed himself up from the ground. "Why wouldn't you want me dead? You are a Quincy and I am a Shinigami. We're enemies, so of course you would want me dead."

Bambietta watched as he proceeded back to his own bed and curled up in a bawl facing the wall. She took a deep breath. "_It really is him, wuss personality and all. Why is he acting like he doesn't remember me? I mean... I remember him. __And what does he mean, 'he's a Shinigami'. He's a Quincy just like I am._"

"_The taicho called him a Shinigami._"

"_They're lying. They have got to be lying. There is no way my..._" Bambietta closed her eyes. "_I hate the Shinigami! They always take away what is important! If he could just remember. But he can't because he's been brainwashed. If they think they can brain wash me too, then they have another thing coming. I'm going to find some way to break that brain washing on him if it is the last thing I do. I'll get something back from them._"

"_What about dying?_"

"_I don't..._" Bambietta felt a shiver run through her spin despite feeling quite warm. She wrapped her arms around her sides. She closed her violet eyes to try to push back the memory. The thought of not dying played over and over in her head as flashed spread across her mind. She stopped suddenly and opened her eyes. "_No. Things are different. I don't want to die. But I'd do anything to make sure that he lives. I don't want to lose him again._"

The violet haired girl leaned back and looked at the ceiling while she pulled her knees to her chest. Her head hurt from the injury Gigi gave her. Making sense of the situation wasn't a task she felt up to. "_I have to protect him. I can't lose him again. If I lose him again... that is the same as dying._"

**M**

Pain shot through Toshiro's body as he hit the ground. The young taicho sat up as his body began to wake up wondering why he ended up falling out of the bed. His bright teal eyes stared at the bed in front of him. "_Matsumoto's tossing in her sleep again._" One hand reached up to rub his eyes. "_I must have been sleep walking again. I hate waking up in her bed._"

"_Young master... this isn't your fukutaicho's room._"

Toshiro looked up then to see the violet haired female looking down at him. The female looked quite familiar to him despite the fact he couldn't place where he remembered from. He remembered her saying she too had been turned into a zombie and brushed it off as a familiarity for that reason. A sudden realization that he had crawled into bed with a strange female washed over him and his cheeks flushed deep red. "I'm sorry! I'm so, very, very sorry! I really didn't mean to do that!"

"Didn't mean to? How can you not mean to?"

"I'm sorry. I have nightmares if I don't sleep with someone at night. I just... I didn't realize."

"_Young master... that isn't exactly something you should share with a complete stranger._"

"_What else am I supposed to do? I made a complete fool of myself._"

"_This is just making an even bigger fool of yourself._"

"I am so sorry! I've only ever done this with Matsumoto."

"_Excuse me? You also did it when Ichimaru was around._"

"And Ichimaru when he was there too I guess."

"_Do you realize how you're making yourself look?_"

"I always assumed it was because she was my legal guardian in the Gotei Thirteen. I don't know why I did what I did." He continued to grovel. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry? You're supposed to be dead."

Toshiro felt as if the girl shot him in the heart with her comment. "_Why do I feel bad about what she said? Why am I concerned with what she's said." _His cheeks felt cold. "You want me dead?"

"_Young master... please calm down._"

"I didn't say that you moron."

"Yes you did." Toshiro stood up. "_You hate me because I am a Shinigami. I don't know why I should be worried about what she thinks. The Quincy are... I'm not found of them._"

"_Well... there must be a reason._"

"Why wouldn't you want me dead? You are a Quincy and I am a Shinigami. We're enemies, so of course you would want me dead."

"_That wasn't a smart thing to say. Honestly young master. Think before you act."_

Toshiro ignored the zampaktuo and instead went over to his bed to curl up into a ball. He soon drifted back to sleep.


	5. Candy Temptations

**Finding Friendship  
><strong>_**Candy Temptations**_

The young Shinigami of the forth division realized Isane was watching him. "Is something the matter Kotetsu fukutaicho?"

"I'm just wondering how you can be so calm about all of this Yamada. You're completely calm despite the fact you know Unohana Taicho is dead."

Hanataro looked up at the ceiling. "I guess one of the reasons I'm able to remain calm is because I know she wouldn't want me to be any other way. She'd want me to focus on treating the patients."

"You're also not bothered by the fact you're having to treat the Quincy. They've killed some of our own."

"Unohana Taicho never had a problem with treating the enemy. When it comes to our job there is no enemy." Hanataro looked at the tall female, his eyes reflecting confusion. "You should know this."

"I know. I know. It's hard treating them in a positive manner when I'm having to heal injuries that they've caused."

"Technically we're having to heal injuries that we've caused on them as well. People hurting others is wrong." The young Shinigami tilted his head. "Something is really bothering you here, is it not?"

"Yes. I worry about you. I worry about you, Hitsugaya Taicho and Kusajishi Fukutaicho. The three of you have dealt with so much."

"I think Kusajishi Fukutaicho will bounce back just fine. She's got that kind of personality." Hanataro smiled at the tall fukutaicho. "As for myself... it's my job as the oldest of the younger Shinigami to be strong so they don't have to worry." The young Shinigami pulled back his sleeve and showed of his non-existent arm muscle. "See?"

"I see..." Isane felt the corners of her mouth twist up. The tall woman didn't want to laugh at the younger Shinigami's antics despite the fact she knew how childish Hanataro sounded right then. "Next to be checked on is Madarame and Ayasegawa. We have them in the same room as each other."

"I'll check in on how they're doing." Hanataro held up two fingers.

"Are you sure. I mean..." Isane took a deep breath.

Hanataro blinked a couple of times at the older female. "Something the matter?"

"Seriously... you know who caused their injuries, right?"

Hanataro slapped the palm of his hand with his fist. "Oh yeah. They were injured by Hitsugaya Taicho's zampaktuo. Why should I be worried about that? We've treated Kyoraku Taicho for injuries caused by Hyorinmaru before."

"This time it was actually Hitsugaya Taicho who caused the injuries. You do realize that... don't you."

"Of course I do. I know he didn't mean to. Plus... I _always_ take care of the eleventh division care. You have enough problems on your hand taking over Unohana's duties. Nobody else will take care of them."

Isane sighed. "All right."

The young Shinigami slipped away in his usual manner. Ikkaku and Yumichika sat on their beds. Ikkaku polished his blade while Yumichika sulked on his bed. Neither one of the men greeted the young Shinigami. "Good afternoon!"

"How can you be so chipper?" The fifth seat of the eleventh division glared at the member of the forth division.

"I'm alive. I think that is a good enough reason to be happy."

"I think that is a good enough reason to be happy." Ikkaku continued with his blade. "Plus... I thought I would be losing my leg due to frostbite."

"When I see Hitsugaya Taicho I am going to take my hands and wring that little neck of his." Yumichika held up his hands.

"Why? From what I understand he didn't mean to." Hanataro stared at the two older males as his mouth twisted up into a frown.

"Because he's a sadistic little brat!" the fifth seat snapped.

"Come now. You actually like the kid." Ikkaku didn't take his eyes off his blade.

"Yeah! I didn't know he had a thing for watching an opponents blood arc through the air. I didn't think him capable of that! He also mimicked your fighting stance back there! Aren't you the least bit bothered by that?"

Ikkaku's hands stopped the polishing motion and set his katana aside. "I admit that I am actually bothered by that."

"And it doesn't want to make you wring his little neck?"

Ikkaku opened his mouth to say something to Yumichika. Hanataro opened his mouth first. "It's not as if it was any of his fault."

The third seat of the eleventh division turned his head away from the other two. "I realize that as well. It's one of the reasons I'm not holding anything against him."

"That's why?" Yumichika folded his arms across his chest. This caused him to wince due to his injuries and his arms fell to his side. "Ikkaku... has it not escaped your mind that Hitsugaya Taicho enjoyed doing to you what he did? To him the whole thing was a game."

Ikkaku took a deep breath. "I'm well aware of that."

Yumichika stood up and let a yelp from the pain. He walked over and grabbed his friend by the front of his uniform and pulled up. "That child is a creepy, vindictive little sadist,,, a complete monster. Doesn't that concern you at all?"

Ikkaku slapped his friend's hand away. "Concern me?"

"Well?"

"How do you think he sees himself right now?" Ikakku's hand fell to his side. "Is there still time for him to be a child?"

Yumichika blinked a couple of times from surprise. He fell back and flopped onto the bed with his own hands at his sides. "What the hell were you and I doing when he was captured?"

"Umm..." Hanataro looked at the two men as a frown spread across his face.

"Don't worry about it Yamada. This is adult business."

**M**

"Why do we have to be stuck in tents?" Shino flopped onto the bed the forth division assigned her.

Ryonosuke sat with his knees pulled to his chest. "Shouldn't we be glad that we're not that badly hurt?"

"It really sucks being a lower ranked Shinigami. It means we don't get as nice of accomadations as the higher ranking ones."

"I really don't think that is the case."

A pink blur hurtled through the door. The two Shinigami startled at the appearance of the pink fiend. The fukutaicho of the eleventh division raised a hand in greeting. "Hello!"

"Hello..." The two Shinigami from the thirteenth division stared at Yachiru. The small girl's head was adorned with a nurses cap.

Ryonouke's jaw dropped in confusion. Shino didn't hold back from asking what she wanted to ask. "What are you doing?"

"I'm helping Kotetchin out." The small girl smiled before jumping up onto the cot with Ryonosuke. "I'm supposed to go around asking everyone how they are doing, so how are you doing."

"I'm fine. We're both fine."

"No we're not. It is bloody hot out here. How come everyone else gets to be inside."

Yachiru's smile suddenly fell into a frown. "Everybody inside is worse off or one of them."

"You mean the Quincy?"

"Yeah. Shun-shun says one of the first priorities is rebuilding fourth division. Everybody will have nice accommodations."

"Yes. Hitsugaya Taicho will still get the best." Shino folded her arms behind the back of her head.

"What do you mean?" Ryonosuke frowned at the girl.

Yachiru hopped down from his cot and up onto Shino's. "She's talking about the big beds captains get silly. They're fun to bounce on. Kotetchin and Re-chan let me bounce on them all I want. Re-chan's not around anymore though."

The small female quickly sped off leaving the other two watching after her.

Ryonosuke took a deep breath. "I don't know why you're so jealous. Why shouldn't the higher ranked Shinigami have special accommodations."

**M**

Liltotto sat in her bed with her arms folded across her chest. Candace and Meninas were not good company. Neither one of them were in a good mood and neither one of them wanted to talk about their future prospects. Neither though did Liltotto. The other two decided the best way to pass the time was to sleep. Candace placed her one arm across her eyes while Meninas lay on her stomach with her face buried in her pillow.

Truth be told Meninas cried into her pillow for a good period of time before she fell asleep.

A few members of the forth division brought the three food. Meninas's food remained untouched while Candace only ate the items she could eat one handed. Liltotto could only eat the soup which caught the attention of the two as she always ate everything given her. The small female simply said she wasn't very hungry. The food recently was taken away and the sun began to set. She stared at the door to the room as things became quiet.

With a loud band the door was slid open to reveal a girl with pink hair and a bright smile. Candace startled awake while Meninas continued to sleep. "Hello!"

"What the..." Candace sat up and looked at the little girl with a frown. "What are you doing?"

"I'm making my rounds like Kotechin wanted!"

Liltotto sighed. "Seriously... Meninas can sleep through anything."

Candace rolled her eyes. "What do you mean doing your rounds?"

"I'm supposed to go around smiling at the patients and cheering them up as needed!"

"We're not patients." The older of the two girls who were awake shook her head.

"You're missing an arm. Sure look like a patient to me." The pink haired girl bounced over to Liltotto's bed and climbed up. She held out a small hand. "Hello. My name is Kusajishi Yachiru. It's nice to meet you."

"I'm not in the mood." Liltotto rlled her eyes.

"Then shall I call you grumpy-chan?" Yachiru tilted her head.

"Grumpy-chan? Why?" Candace shook her head.

"I give everybody nicknames."

"Exactly how old are you?" Liltotto narrowed her eyes.

"Don't know. Ken-chan found me when I was a baby."

"And whose Ken-chan?"

"I _think_ she means that barbarian."

"The captain of the eleventh division?" Liltotto shook her head at the small girl. "I don't want to be friends with you."

"That's all right. I'm friends with everybody."

Candace frowned. "You do realize that we're your enemy, right?"

"While it is true that you didn't play fair when you played with Ken-chan... you're still friends."

"Say what?" Liltotto shook her head at the girl. "Fighting isn't playing."

"It isn't? I thought it was. For Ken-chan, Shiny and Yun-Yun- it is. I don't play those games much though. I did get to play with that silly person. That other person cheated though. He turned my bones to cookies. Do you want to play a game grumpy-chan?"

"Don't call me grumpy-chan. My name is Litotto Lamperd."

"Lil... totto..."

"Look! If you can't pronounce my name..."

"Perdie... totsie... otto-chan..."

"Stop trying to give me a nickname. Candy!"

"Don't look at me."

"Candy? I like that nickname so I'll be sure to call you that."

"I didn't give you permission to call me that let alone speak to me." Candace wrapped her one arm across her chest."

Yachiru frowned suddenly and reached into her robes for something. Her tongue stuck out the side of her mouth. She then pulled out something and held it out to Liltotto. The girls eyes widened at the site of the candy in the girl's hand. "Here! For you." Without thinking the smallest Quincy reached out for the candy and took it in her hand. Yachiru tilted her head. "Do you like candy?"

"Yeah. She likes all sweets."

Yachiru leaned in and whispered into Liltotto's ear. "What ever you do don't eat Bya-kun's cookies. They're scary looking." She hopped off the bed and hurried over to jump on Meninas' bed. The magenta haired girl swung her arm out instinctively at the small child. Yachiru giggled as she jumped into the air and the fist slammed into the wall making a crevice. She then bounced down onto the ground.

"Her hair looks like mouse so I'll call her mouse." The small female sped out of the room leaving the door open.

Candace rolled her eyes. "It's mousse, not mouse."

"Poor Meninas." Liltotto looked at the open door, only for a young male Shinigami to come and close the door.


	6. Parental Panic

**Finding Friendship  
><strong>_**Parental Panic**_

Rangiku felt a lump in her throat as she sat on the bed in the room with the older two taicho who had been turned into zombies. In the corner was an empty bed where her small taicho should have been had not the administration of the forth division decide the child taicho was better off not being placed in a room with the adults. Her hands twisted the bed sheet of her bed with worry and she bit at her lip. The company in the room remained quiet.

They also were able to sleep through the night. Rose lay on his side while Kensei slept sitting up. Rangiku kept worrying at the bed sheet and her lip.

The next morning saw sunlight peeking through the dim window causing the room to be dimly lit. Isane came in with two other Shinigami bringing them a warm breakfast. Rangiku stared at her food instead of eating it while the two male taicho's plowed in. "Is my taicho eating?"

"We haven't brought him food yet today."

"I really need to see him."

"You need to rest."

A knock came at the door causing the two taicho to pause. Rose's mouth twisted up into a smile. "Kira. You're doing well."

"The forth division evacuated me with many of the other Shinigami who were to injured to fight during the last battle. I didn't expect things to be this bad though." Kira sat down in one of the chairs. "If I could have been there I wouldn't have allowed you to become a zombie."

"Don't worry about it."

"Do you want me to see if I can find you a violin?"

"As soothing as it would be to have my music I think there are other things that are more important then finding a good violin. A music player and classical music would be better."

Kensei frowned at his fukutaicho. "Sorry for the gut check I gave you."

Hisagi scratched the top of his head in a rather sheepish manner. "Neither one of us were in our right minds at that point of time. Do they really have to keep you four in here?" The fukutaicho of the ninth division looked around. "Speaking of which... Rangiku-san... where is your small taicho? Shouldn't he be in here with you?"

"Taicho's in a room by himself."

"Actually..." Isane looked away as she clutched her hands in front of her in a nervous manner. "Kyoraku and Ukitake Taicho had me move the young Quincy female who was also turned into a zombie in with him."

Rangiku felt the color leave her face and her stomach flip from the sudden panic she felt. The fukutaicho of the tenth division shoved her tray to the side so that it crashed to the floor. She quickly shunpooed out of the room and headed to the room near by where she could feel her taicho's spiritual pressure coming from. Isane hurried after her calling her name and asking her to come back.

The busty female stopped in the door way and took in the room. Her eyes widened at what she saw and her chest tightened as her panic increased. One of the beds was empty while the other contained two occupants. A girl with violet hair lay next to the wall watching the young boy with white hair sleep. Every so often her hand would reach out and brush the boy's white lock of hair out of his face. Rangiku could feel herself beginning to hyperventilate. "_This can not be happening. He knows better._"

"_Stop."_

"_Don't tell me to stop Haineko!_" The woman stepped towards the two children and reached down for her small taicho. The violet haired female sat up suddenly looking at her with anger. Something told her the girl was going to do something to stop her. A resounding slap was heard as the palm of Rangiku's hand hit the girl's cheek leaving a red mark. The girl's violet eyes widened from the shock as a hand went up and clutched her cheek.

"_Rangiku... you don't know what you're doing._"

"_I know full well what I'm doing._" The woman grabbed the small taicho around his waist and quickly yanked him from the bed. As Rangiku did this the child woke up. Toshiro's hands reached for the bedsheets in panic and as she pulled away the bedding became messed up. A strangled sound of panic also escaped her lips. She pulled him over to the other bed and sat down placing him in her lap. "Hey..."

The young taicho quickly pulled away from her much to her dismay. Isane stood in the door way. "Rangiku..."

"Not now. Come on..." The fukutaicho of the tenth reached out to grab the white haired boy's hands while he backed into the corner. "... don't do things like that. It's highly inappropriate for you to be doing things like that." She watched as his mouth opened and a hurt look spread across his face. His lip began to quiver. "Hey! Don't do that."

"I didn't..."

"Didn't do anything wrong? You climbed into bed with a complete stranger! That's..."

"Shut up."

Ranguku turned her head to look at the violet haired girl who was still holding her cheek. The girl's violet eyes watered slightly and she scowled at the older female. She particular glared at the woman's busty chest. "Excuse me?"

"I don't like you."

"Of course you're not going to like me. I just slapped you across the face for doing something inappropriate with him."

"It was none of your business."

"None of my business?" Rangiku felt another gut wrench as she looked at the girl. "Excuse me, but this is very much my business." The woman turned her head to look at Isane. "Did you see what was going on? We can't have this going on."

"Matsumoto..." Toshiro suddenly tugged on the woman's sleeve.

The woman turned to the boy. "What is it?"

"I didn't mean to."

"That doesn't change the fact it is inappropriate." Rangiku felt another gut wrench and looked towards the girl. The girl's eyes screamed murderous intent. Instead of reacting though the girl muttered something about stupid Shinigami and turned over onto her side to look at the wall.

"Why?"

The female felt her heart sink suddenly. "Surely you understand why it is inappropriate."

"_Apparently he doesn't understand why this is indeed inappropriate._"

Toshiro's bright teal eyes drifted away from looking her in the face. "No... I don't think I quite understand."

"Taicho. You are a boy. She is a girl. That is completely inappropriate."

"I've slept with you before when I've had nightmares."

Rangiku swallowed while Haineko chastised her. "_I told you he was getting to old for sleeping with you. But no... you had to have a mommy fetish with him and act as if there was nothing wrong with someone his age acting so childish._"

"_Shut up._" The woman felt her hands tighten around the boy's hands. "Look... she's a complete stranger. I am not."

"She doesn't feel like a stranger. Plus... didn't you and Ichimaru do the same thing?"

The fukutaicho felt the color drain from her face. Hisagi's voice came from the doorway. "What does he mean you and Ichimaru did the same thing? What exactly happened in here?"

"Shuhei... could you please stay out of this?" Rangiku turned her head to look at the fukutaicho of the ninth division. A look of worry was on the man's face.

"She and Ichimaru slept together."

Hisagi took a deep breath. "Hitsugaya Taicho... did you sleep..." The man swallowed. "No. You wouldn't. That girl's a Quincy."

Rangiku watched as her small taicho's eyes widened in horror. He looked over at the girl. The boy's mouth opened and he began to speak slowly. "Why do we and the Quincy have to be enemies?"

"Taicho! She is a complete stranger!"

"I told you. She doesn't feel like a stranger. You and Ichimaru..."

"Ichimaru and I knew each other since before we entered the academy. On top of that I was just comforting him when he had nightmares like you did."

"I'm sorry, but that's all I was doing. It's not my fault I have to sleep with people when the nightmares come. You also weren't here. It's not as if anything else could happen."

Isane and Hisagi both let out startled sounds. The fukutaicho of the ninth division began to stammer. "Hitsugaya Taicho... hasn't anyone ever had that... well, that conversation with you?"

"What conversation? What..."

Rangiku placed a finger on the boy's mouth. "You and I need to have a very long conversation when you get released from forth divisions care," She tugged the coat of the Sternritter uniform off the boy's shoulders. "Now get some sleep. How you can sleep in this I honestly don't know. It looks overly hot." She stepped out side after taking a deep breath. "Isane... please. You have to do something about this situation."

"I'll have a divider brought in. I can't believe Hitsugaya Taicho did that. I really... I thought he knew better. Actually..." Isane looked at the ground. "Rangiku... I thought Hitsugaya Taicho was uncomfortable with being around other people. His behavior's odd." The fukutaicho of the forth division then said what Rangiku feared. "We really need to keep an eye on his mental state. This must have effected him much worse then we thought."

Hisagi folded his arms across his chest. "I know you said that this is none of my business, but..."

"It isn't." Rangiku snapped.

"How can he not have known what you and Ichimaru were doing?"

The fukutaicho of the tenth division felt her cheeks suddenly redden. "Hisagi Shuhei! What I told the taicho was in fact the truth!"

"That..." Hisagi's mouth clamped shut. His eyes betrayed the fact he felt hurt.

Isane let out a deep sigh. "Rangiku... you and I both know you wanted to do it with Ichimaru. As much as I really, really disliked the man... your infatuation with him was rather obvious."

"It wasn't an infatuation!" Rangiku felt her voice strained. She closed her eyes to try and calm down. "Look... I'm sorry for snapping right then. My feelings for Gin weren't something that could simply go away overnight. They're never going to go away. Please don't talk either about me wanting... well, that conversation went into a rather personal place."

"_Yes. That's because we both know you want to be a mommy._" Haineko's tone mocked Rangiku. "_Old hag._"

Isane touched the shoulder of the tenth division fukutaicho to lead her back to the room. "Come now Rangiku. We need to get you back. I'll see to adding a divider and having someone in her supervising them at all times You need not worry about this."

"_You wanted to be a mommy._" Haineko began to sing. "_Oh! And I just heard that panicked thought of yours old lady! You're worried your reason for wanting a baby is because it's a woman thing. You haven't told Ise-chan because you're afraid she would ridicule you for not fighting the man! You're also thinking that's why you didn't much Ichimaru hard enough to have a family. If you only knew..._"

"_Haineko... you are honestly a self-centered, spoiled brat._"

"_You're one to talk._" Haineko pushed farther. "_How did it feel Rangiku hitting that little girl? Did it make you feel big? __How did it feel looking at that girl?_"

Rangiku slid down into her bed letting out a deep sigh. "_What? Do you want me to feel guilty for hitting her? Yes. Something bothered me when I looked at that girl. And to be honest... I really don't think she cares whether I like her or not as she's already made up her mind that she hates me._"

"_Well... I think you were wrong._"

"_Why? What they were doing was inappropriate._"

"_He told you she didn't feel like a stranger._"

"_She doesn't feel like a stranger because she was also turned into a zombie! That is no reason to go running to her for comfort!_"

"_You're not getting what I'm saying._"

"_I am quite sure what you're thinking Haineko. You've got a very, very perverted mind that I honestly don't like dealing with._


	7. Future Forward

**Finding Friendship  
><strong>_**Future Forward**_

Much of tenth division reappeared with the defeat of the Quincy's majesty. Some of the walls were damaged due to some of the rubble from the Vandenreich buildings not leaving. One of these walls was one of the wall from the tenth division office and included part of a book shelf and the spines of many of the books. Thus papers and pictures ended up scattered across the floor. Nanao specifically asked to take care of the tenth division for Rangiku and her small taicho.

When she arrived at the tenth division she found the orange haired teen that had helped them so many times. Nanao found the behavior Ichigo exhibited to be quite strange. Ichigo volunteered to help with the work load at the tenth division despite the fact there was no reason she could think of for him to volunteer. The teen should have been getting ready to head back to the world of the living, but instead wandered into the tenth division and started to pick up the mess strewn across the floor without being asked.

She stepped in and grabbed a box to stick everything in. It was then that Ichigo asked if he could help with the division until Toshiro was feeling better. Ichigo's brown eyes begged her to let him help, which confused her even more. They finally finished and they carried the boxes to the quarters of the tenth division's captain. Rangiku and Toshiro's place of living was still standing despite having damage to the outside of the building. The stepped into the room and set the boxes down.

That was when the sad look in Ichigo's eyes became more profound. "Something the matter."

"I would have thought Toshiro's room would have been more... personalized."

"What do you mean?"

"There is nothing here that feels like Toshiro. It feels more like..." Ichigo stopped speaking and instead swallowed nervously. "I only see one stuffed animal."

Nanao looked around the room trying to think of why the orange haired teen would feel that way. "You don't think that stuffed animal is him?"

"That stuffed animal feels more like something someone else picked out for him."

"If I remember correctly that is something that his former taicho and the former fukutaicho of the thirteenth division got for him."

One of Ichigo's eyebrows went up as his interest was perked. "Both of them gave it Toshiro? Why not one?"

"The Shiba twins? Why would they?" Nanao shook her head. "Because they were twins they did many things together. It was that way since I was Toshiro's age." Her head turned to look around the rest of the room. "Actually... this room is still the way it was when Shiba Taicho left?"

The fake smile Ichigo tried forcing onto his face suddenly left. "Was Toshiro thinking my dad would return?"

"Yes. I'm quite sure he thought his former taicho..." The female fukutaicho of the first division flinch. "Ichigo... did you say your father?" Nanao watched as the orange haired teen looked away. "You mean to say that your father is Isshin? Does this have anything to do with why you're here doing things for the tenth division."

"I owe Toshiro and Rangiku-san that much."

The woman shook her head at the sad look in the teens eye. "You don't owe them anything. It was your father who disappeared on them. That had nothing to do with you and wasn't you're fault. They might be upset finding out, but..."

"I owe them because they're family." Ichigo looked around the room and folded his arms across his chest. "I thought I could get to know Toshiro better this way as well. I'd much rather see him. I was told though he's in isolation and that he isn't doing well. Nobody is saying why, but the uncles were rather upset about his situation."

Nanao took a deep breath. "I don't think you want to know."

"But shouldn't I know?" Two brown eyes looked her right in the face. "I want to help Toshiro."

The woman swallowed. "Considering the fact Ukitake is having troubles dealing with what happened... and by that I mean serious trouble." Air came out of her lungs from deep down. "Perhaps when we have more information?" She found herself looking away and swallowing again. "Then again... you may end up finding out about what happened. Just be forewarned that it is painful."

Ukitake didn't know how much more he could take. Isane finally confined him to his own room as his illness began to act up. Every so often the image of the small taicho in the uniform of the Sternritter flashed across his mind and he shuddered to think of how the child's body was posed. He tried telling Toshiro things would be all right, but his tone revealed the fact he didn't know if things would be all right.

A knock came at the door and he looked up to see Urahara. A smile spread across his face. "I hope that you have good news."

"I've done my examinations of those turned into zombies... though I had some issues with both of the children. The Quincy girl kept trying to bite my arm off and the child taicho hated being touched." Urahara came into the room and sat on the chair. "Physically they are all fine. The problem lies n the fact I can't measure what effect this has on them mentally and emotionally. I think the adults will do much better then the children. The girl is also more sociable then Hitsugaya Taicho... despite the fact she thought I was candy."

"That's what I was worried about. Well, I was also worried about... that. The fact he might not be alive. I mean... what that Quincy did to him was shocking. Something needs to be done to help him. Changes need to be made." Ukitake looked away as his eyebrows went up. "Actually... something needs to be done with the young Quincy was well. It's time we admit the truth... that Quincy and Shinigami are two sides to the same coin. I'm not sure how that will go over."

"Perhaps focus on getting the Quincy and Shinigami to work together?"

"How can that be possible?"

"Well... the girl tried biting off my arm when I examined her, but she also tried attacking me when I touched Hitsugaya Taicho."

Ukitake's eyes narrowed and his hands clenched the sheet's. "So they're friends?"

"No... the young captain is quite creeped out by her behavior. He thinks that she hates him. He also thinks that she is attacking because she hates Shinigami." The smile left Ukitake's face. "On more serious business here. That young Quincy's behavior was odd, protecting Hitsugaya like she did." He took a deep breath. "I decided to run a few additional tests."

The taicho of the thirteenth division felt a frown spread across his face. "What test? What were you testing for?"

Urahara pulled his hat down over his eye as he continued to frown. "Hitsugaya Toshiro and that girl are siblings."

"What?" Ukitake's eyes widened. "That can't be possible. Shiro-chan didn't die twenty years ago... he had to have died over forty years ago." The older man took a deep breath. "And from what I understand of how this zombie powers works... worked... she can't change a Quincy until after they died. She clearly stated Shiro-chan wasn't dead before she changed him. It's in the reports. How do you explain this?"

"I can't. Not without running a few more tests. Even then I can't guarantee that I would find an answer." Urahara stopped fidgeting with his hat. "I can though give you some theories as to why. I can give you many theories."

"Such as.?"

"She could have assumed that Hitsugaya Taicho wasn't dead when she took him over. This makes sense as the other two captains were dead when she took them over and they didn't have free will either. Whether the person may have free will depends on whether or not she chooses to give them free will after they die. Of course... this confirms that the two captains were killed and them being killed wasn't an illusion created in front of Isane."

"The second theory I have is that girl was never dead in the first place when she was changed. For some reason the Quincy that had the power to turn people into zombies wanted the other Quincy to think she was dead. The Quincy with the zombie powers did in fact smash in the back of the head of the Quincy child she turned into a Shinigami. Hitsugaya Taicho also ended up redressed as if he were some kind of doll. I wouldn't be surprised if that Quincy viewed her zombies as toys."

"The third theory is that the Quincy who had the ability to turn others into zombies didn't know how her powers worked. She may have been told that she had to kill other Quincy before she changed them in order to prevent her from killing off other Quincy just because she wanted to do so. If she had known Hitsugaya Taicho had Quincy blood then she would have likely killed him to change him into her puppet."

"Forth..."

"Four theories?" Ukitake frowned.

"The forth theory is that there is something wrong with Hitsugaya Taicho."

"There is nothing wrong with Hitsugaya Taicho. He's a wonderful child."

"Is there nothing wrong with him? Even the Shiba twins didn't start hearing their zampaktuo spirit at such a young age. What if he was tossed aside because his powers didn't manifest in the same manner as the other Quincy? You know as well as I how the Quincy are,"

"That's not all of them. Look at Ishida Uryu."

"Ishida Uryu was born in the world of the living. I believe the children were actually born in Soul Society."

Ukitake took a deep breath. "Tell no one about this."

"Not even the head captain?"

"I would normally tell him, but you likely can explain those theories of yours better then I can. No one else. A few times I've spoken with that child he mentioned the fact he believed his parents abandoned him because he wasn't wanted. I kept telling him that this wasn't true. This... this has to be more devastating."

"Eventually he's going to find out. There is no telling when that girl will approach him, or when he will realize that she's his twin."

Ukitake blinked a couple of times. "Twins? Shiro-chan is smaller then that girl. Surely she is older then he is."

"Haven't you noticed how their reiatsu's balance each other? Hitsugaya Taicho certainly has noticed and has been moving to be closer to her while he's been asleep. This is also seriously bothering him as despite the instinctive knowledge that she is no stranger, his mind says she is."

The taicho of the thirteenth division looked at the ground. "It looks like we need to do something for these children. All of them, both Shinigami and Quincy. I'll speak to Kyoraku." Ukitake placed his hands to his mouth. "We also need to make a home for those girls."

The magenta haired female woke up and looked at the hole in the wall. Meninas blinked a couple of times as she sat up. "Did I do that?"

"Yes. You did that?" Candace rolled her eyes.

Liltotto folded her arms across her chest while one knee was pulled up. The other two girls had yet to figure out that she had lost her powers and she would rather it remain that way. The sound of female voices were heard from the hall way.

"I don't understand why Kurosaki is ignoring us Rukia. We arrived back from the soul kings realm and he didn't look me in the eye. He just took off."

"I didn't have a problem with him looking me in the eye when I ran into him. He was quite happy to see me, but that didn't last. He was worried about Hitsugaya and Matsumoto and he took of towards the tenth division when I told him that he could see them. He muttered something about them being family."

"He's not going to be coming back to the world of the living, is he?"

"I'm bothered by the fact he's thinking of staying here as well."

The door opened and the two females stepped in. The bubbly voice that spoke first spoke up. "Hello!" The person to who the voice belonged to was busty and dressed in no uniform. The other was obviously a Shinigami. "We came to visit you."

Liltotto glared at the small Shinigami that was standing next to the tall female. "We don't like Shinigami."

"Oh! I'm not a Shinigami." Orhime smiled at the girls. "Rukia's just here to keep me company."

"You mean she's here because you're scared of us."

"No. Rukia's here because she is my friend."

Liltotto tilted her head and Meninas. "Guess what Meni... looks like you have a new friend."

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?" The magenta haired female blinked a couple of times.

Candace turned her head to glare at the wall. "What exactly are you here for? To mock us?"

Orihime pointed at the girl's arm. "Actually... I'm here to restore your arm."

"I don't want your pity." The female with the missing arm gritted her teeth.

"Pity..."

"Orihime does this just because she likes being nice to people and doesn't understand how people can hurt each other. Just let her do it."

"You'll be able to eat better and do things better with more then one arm Candy."

Candace let out an irritated ticking sound. "Fine."

The three Quincy girls watched as Orihime stepped towards the girl and sat on the edge of the bed. She called out her spirits that restored things. They watched as Candace's arm reformed itself. The girl then flexed her muscles. "Amazing... it's as if it was never gone in the first place."

"It was your fault for losing it in the first place." Liltotto folded her arms and glared at the wall. "_You could have avoided that fight with Kurosaki Ichigo. I couldn't avoid losing my powers. I'm lucky... very lucky... to be alive._"


	8. Girls New Home

**Finding Friendship  
><strong>_**Girls New Home**_

One thing Kyoraku didn't look forward to was dealing with the forty-six. The way the council function didn't change even after the complete forty-six was replaced by new members. The new head taicho wasn't sure if they had in fact changed thanks to the latest war. The original purpose of the council was to prevent corruption among the Gotei Thirteen by maintaining a balance, but in reality there seemed to be corruption within the forty-six.

He stepped into the dark room and frowned at the council and imagined the conversation he would like to have with them. _"There is honestly more important things myself to be taking care of then spending time talking to you. I do realize though that you need a report since you have isolated yourselves from what goes on outside of this chambers."_

"_Such insolence..."_

"_Yes. I'm intentionally being insolent to you. I'll be as cordial as I need to be with you. Let me make it clear that while I will bide by most decisions that the forty-six makes, I will not stand by if I feel that justice is not being served."_

"_We wish to place the Quincy on trial."_

"_So you can make them disappear? Just like you did in the past? I will not stand by idoly while it happens again. It is time we need to be a whole._"

The older of his zampaktuo spirits piped up. _"Come now... it hopefully will not come to this."_

The man took a deep breath and waited for the forty-six to speak first. "We wish to determine whether the Quincy will be a threat to us and Soul Society."

Kyoraku took a deep breath while he held his hands behind his back. "Do you mean to determine whether they are a threat like they were in the past? Twice at least there has been an attempt in our history to erase the Quincy. Is that the best option?"

"Should this not be something that we in fact decide?"

"No. I don't think that this is something you should decide."

"The Quincy are abominations. They should be destroyed."

Kyoraku took a deep breath. "Thank you for making it clear that you feel that you wish to see them destroyed and cover up your past misdeeds."

"Nothing of the sort!"

"Are the Quincy really abominations? Or is it their leader and you who made them out to be this way?"

"Why do you wish to stand up for them?"

"The first reason happens to be the fact some of those Quincy are mere children. The second reason happens to be this. The Quincy have been hiding among us for a very long time. There is no telling which of the children have bloodlines from two sides. You're condemning our next generation if you ask for the irradiation of the Quincy. It's time to put the past in the past."

"And have us look bad?"

"You'll look bad if you order the killing of the Quincy." Kyoraku took a deep breath. "There are a lot of the upper ranks who will not follow the orders to kill the Quincy either. If you order your own guards to kill them, then we will step in. Soul Society has changed for the better. The forty-six also needs to make the move towards making a new start."

The head taicho left then and waited for the decision. "_The trials of the Quincy war criminals will be left in the hands of the Gotei Thirteen. The only stipulation we place upon the Gotei Thirteen is to place all Quincy under trial except for the ones that are deemed to be mere children. We place the decision for deciding which Quincy qualify as children under the discretion of not the head captain, but Ukitake Taicho. The Gotei Thirteen is also now their legal guardians._"

Kyoraku took a deep breath.

**M**

The small room the three Quincy female were placed in did not at all appeal to Meninas. The magenta haired Quincy felt like crying as she bit into the pillow. A knock came at the door and the three girls looked up to see the small Shinigami that visited them yesterday standing at the door. Candace glared at the girl as she stepped into the room. "What is it this time?"

Rukia stood there with a frown on her face. "The forty-six and the head captain have finished their discussion."

Liltotto leaned her chin on her knees and muttered at the fukutaicho of the thirteenth division. "Let me guess. They've decided we are all to be executed. So much for Bambi-chan's getting a second chance at life."

Candace let out an irritated sound. "Yeah... great."

"No. Many of the Quincy are going to be placed on trial. They have decided to place you three under the legal guardianship of the Gotei Thirteen."

"Exactly what is that supposed to mean?" Meninas muttered into her pillow.

"This means that the Gotei Thirteen is in charge of your well being. This means needed clothing, food and even shelter."

"But no luxuries..." The magenta haired female's voice fell with disappointment.

"This means no candy for Lil, no cute things for you and no makeup for me. I don't know what Gigi would be missing out."

Lilitto folded her arms down. "What about Gigi?" Rukia gave the girl a confused look. "She's the one who turned Bambi-chan into a zombie."

The small fukutaicho took a deep breath. "They've made the decision that she needs to be placed into psychiatric care."

The smallest Quincy female snorted through her nose. "Shouldn't all of us be placed there, all things considered."

"We didn't bash in Bambietta-chan's head." Meninas's head sunk farther into her pillow. "I don't think she's going to forgive us for not stopping her."

Candace rolled her eyes. "What else were we supposed to do? If we brought her back after failing then his majesty would have killed her. At least as a zombie Bambitta is kind of alive."

Silence fell over the room. Liltotto let her arms slide to her side. "Well? Why are you still here?"

"I'm here to take you girls to your new home."

Meninas let the pillow slide down as her eyes blinked a couple of times. Candace shook her head. "We don't want charity from you Shinigami."

Rukia stared at the girl for a short period of time. "You can't stay in the custody of forth division. They need their facilities for medical reasons. This means we have to relocate you. Whether you feel the need to be grateful for this or indignant is up to you."

The female with magenta hair swung her legs over the edge of the bed. "Are we going to be able to have a bath at this place?"

The two other girl's eyes widened at the thought of having a nice bath. Liltotto quickly switched to pretending not to care while Candace looked away with disgust. Rukia remained in the door way holding onto the door frame. "Yes. The noble estates are far more intact then the other buildings so our bathing facilities are functional. Be forewarned that the bath is an older bath system."

Meninas stood up with the pillow in her arms and a smile on her face. Candace frowned at the magenta haired female. "Meninas... we shouldn't do what the Shinigami asks us to do."

"I really want a bath though. I'm tired of fighting and want comfort. She also told us we can't stay here with the forth division. We might as well go."

Liltotto looked at Rukia. "Is Bambi-chan coming with us?"

The small fukutaicho frowned. "She is _supposed_ to go with you. She is being highly stubborn and yelling at us and disturbing her roommate."

Candace's eyebrows went up. "Roommate?"

"The person who turned her into a zombie also turned one of our younger Shinigami into a zombie as well. They are currently sharing the same room."

Another silence fell over the room. Liltotto broke the silence. "I find that hard to believe. I'd like to see her and this person she is staying with."

Candace stood up. "If we have to go to the room then she has to come as well." She stood up and looked Rukia in the eye. "So? Where is she?"

Rukia let out a deep sigh and showed the three girls to the room Toshiro and the violet haired female were staying in. Bambietta scowled at the two from her side of the room. "What are you doing here?"

"I want to see this Shinigami you're fine being around." Candace piped up.

"I am not fine being around any Shinigami." Bambietta looked at the wall. "I'm just not letting the Shinigami order me around."

Liltotto headed to the other side of the curtain that was being used to divide the room. A scuttling sound was heard as was the sound of bed sheets being shifted. Candace pulled the sheets away to see the young Shinigami who took care of some of the medical issues for them reading a book while sitting on a chair. On the actual bed was a small male child dressed in the uniform of a Sternritter. Candace raised an eyebrow. "Why is that Shinigami wearing one of our uniforms?"

The young Shinigami in the seat looked her right in the eye without fear. "Apparently someone on your side decided to change him into it. We don't have any Shinigami robes that fit him right now, so he's having to make due with what he has."

"Disgrace..." Liltotto turned her head. "He's no Quincy."

Bambietta opened her mouth to say something, only for it to clamp shut as she looked away. Candace though noticed the fact she was about to say something. "Oi! You weren't going to stand up for this Shinigami here. You hate Shinigami."

Meninas watched as Bambietta looked away. "Of course I wouldn't stand up for some damn Shinigami. You know how much I hate them."

"Why?" The magenta haired female blinked a couple of times causing Bambeitta to look up. "Why do you hate the Shinigami?"

"I don't think that is anybodies damn business." Bambietta pushed herself up off the bed. "This is boring, so I'll go ahead and come with you girls. You had better not abandon me again though, as I did not appreciate being changed into a zombie."

"At least you're alive. None of the male children survived." Candace placed her hands on her hips to glare at Bambietta.

Meninas twiddled her fingers. "I noticed that... that his majesty was always harder on the male children."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Bambietta swallowed as if something were bothering her.. Her eyes drifted over to look at the young Shinigami on the bed without turning her head. "So... what is this new home of ours supposed to be like."

"Follow me and you'll find out." Rukia turned on her heals. "I am by the way Kuchiki Rukia, fukutaicho of the thirteenth division."

"Why should I care what your name is? You aren't the one who is taking care of us?" Bambietta's words came out in a snapping fashion. Meninas noticed Bambietta look once more over her shoulder while the other two girls didn't notice. The rest of the way to the Kuchiki manor the violet haired girl continued to look forward without looking back at the place the forth division set up for healing purposes. Meninas could tell something was bothering her.

Four pairs of eyes looked over the Kuchiki estate as their eyes began to widen. Meninas' mouth dropped and she whispered to the other girls so that only they could hear her. "Do you think we'll end up with nice things?"

"More along the lines of we're going to be servants."

"Oh..." The magenta female's voice lowered with disappointment.

Rukia overheard what Candace said and turned her head. "My brother's wife passed away a long time ago."

"Oh... so one of us has the chance to be the new wife?" Candace rolled her eyes as she snapped her words out. Her hands were placed on her hips. "Should we actually be grateful for that?"

"I doubt my brother wishes to remarry. He requested to take you in specifically because he and his wife could have no children while she was alive. I doubt you'll be treated as servants... though that doesn't mean there won't be things expected of you. There were things expected of me when I was adopted into the clan."

"So he's _not_ you're real brother?" Bambietta looked at Rukia in disdain.

"No. Byakuya nii-sama is my real brother. He's my real brother not through blood relations, but marriage. His wife was my older sister."

Candace leaned over to the other girls and whispered so the other girls could hear her. "So... the reason she says we're not potential wives is because she doesn't want her sister replaced."

"I'm too young to be a wife." Liltotto folded her arms behind her head. "I'm not looking to replace my parents. Particularly since there is a chance they may still be alive."

"Lucky you..." Candace folded her arms. The girls remained silent until they came to the room.

The room was a traditional Japanese room with the typical woven mats on the floor. Four futons were rolled up to the side of the room while four kimonos were prepared for the girls. Candace rolled her eyes at the sight of the kimonos. "Are we expected to wear those?"

"Do you object?"

"We don't exactly know how to wear them?" Liltotto spoke up. "We're used to Western clothes." Her head darted over to look at Bambietta. "Except perhaps Bambi-chan."

"I told you not to call me that. I'm not interested in that kind of thing. You know why?"

"We don't know why." Meninas blinked a couple of times.

Liltotto rolled her eyes. "Don't mind her. You don't want to know what goes on in that head of hers. I know full well... you don't want to know."

"Hey!" Bambietta raised her finger to launch one of her bombs at the girl. Rukia quickly grabbed her wrist.

"Don't. I've heard how much you in particular like destroying things. Would it hurt you to behave yourself?"

"I don't like Shinigami."

"Here my brother and I are not Shinigami, but nobles." Rukia let go of the girl's wrists. "We are also to act as your foster family for the time being. Is there anything that you girls want?"

"Lots of pillows with cute things?" Meninas' eyes widened with hope.

"I hope you like chappy themed things. That's what I can get my hands on as of right now."

"I don't care as long as it is cute pillows."

"Sweets..." Liltotto stated

"A nice bath." Candace took a deep breath.

"I don't care." Bambietta stormed off to a corner of the room and began to sulk.


	9. A Child's Nightmare

**Finding Friendship  
><strong>_**A Child's Nightmare**_

"_Why does it hurt so much... what that girl says?_" Toshiro's mind was in a fog. The young taicho's mind had been in a fog ever since he was turned into a zombie. There was definitely things that he felt he had forgotten, but others like the attack on Ikkaku and Yumichika remained in the back of his mind quiet clearly. The young taicho knew by attacking the two he had done wrong despite the fact he intended them no harm and was in no control.

Thus he felt his isolation was some kind of punishment for being a bad child. The idea that he was being punished didn't go away no matter how many times Isane came into the room asking if he was comfortable and Ukitake came in to ask if he needed anything. Deep down he knew he wanted Rangiku, but Rangiku was in fact not in the same room. He didn't try going to her as he thought they wouldn't let him go.

The other Shinigami then brought in that girl. He couldn't explain why he felt the way he did about the girl, but he knew that he sensed a warm fuzzy feeling from her. This feeling radiated safety, comfort and even familiarity. She didn't feel like a complete stranger despite the fact his mind kept telling him that she was a stranger. They had never met before and yet there was this aching feeling that they had indeed met.

Her words also weren't nice. When she kicked him out of her bed with a painful kick to the stomach she had told him she wanted him dead. When he had scuttled into his corner out of fear of the Quincy that stepped around the curtain to look at him he had heard her that she wanted nothing to do with the Shinigami. She made it clear that she hated Shinigami, which meant that she hated him. The fact she hated him felt like a pit in his stomach that made him feel ill.

"Toshiro?" A familiar voice came from the doorway.

Toshiro felt drawn to the person in the doorway in a similar manner in which he felt drawn to the young female. The sinking feeling caused him to not move or respond to the person. "_Will Ichi-nii treat me the same way?_"

A hand lightly touched his shoulder. "Toshiro... I've come to take you and Rangiku-san home."

The young taicho of the tenth division looked up, his face scrunching from confusion. "Kurosaki..." The boy swallowed. "_Does he mean send me into the cycle of rebirth as I am a zombe._"

"The tenth division is waiting for you to come home. They're worried about you and Rangiku-san. Actually... she's worried about you. She's pacing outside."

Toshiro's skinny fingers reached out and latched onto Ichigo's arm tightly while the corners of his mouth twisted up. The young taicho found himself swallowing back the bile that was building up. He let Ichigo tug him up from the ground and he let out a deep breath. Relief washed over him for a brief period of time. The child taicho quickly sunk back into thinking about the rejection he faced from that young Quincy. "_I didn't care what the other Quincy thought of me. In fact... I think I'm now terrified of the Quincy. Why am I not terrified of her? Something... something is off._"

Letting Ichigo pull him down made him feel safe and eased some of the anxieties he was currently feeling in regards to the girl he shared the room with for a brief period of time. "_Isn't this childish though? __Me following behind him like a lost child?_"

The small taicho swallowed as he looked at the orange haired teen. The thoughts of embarrassment quickly left when he found himself quickly hugged. He felt his face pressed into the ample bosom of his fukutaicho. He felt his entire body tense up as she touched him and ruffled his white head of hair. "Taicho..."

"Matsumoto..." Toshiro placed a hand on each of her arms and pushed away. He took a deep breath as he managed to free himself. "Don't do that!"

"Let's go home."

"_Home? Yes. I guess tenth division is what you could call my home. I'm not completely sure though as _…" The boy's mind switched gears quickly. "_… what does home even mean? A place to stay? A place that amounts to shelter? Why is that word so important?_"

Rangiku wrapped her arms around the boy's shoulders as they headed back to the tenth division. Toshiro felt his shoulders tense up as she wrapped her arms around the shoulders. He folded his arms across his chest and opened his mouth to say something about not feeling comfortable with being touched by her. Nothing came out of his mouth and he simply let out a deep breath. His bright teal eyes took in the damage as they traveled towards the tenth division. Toshiro pulled his lip into his mouth. "_This... all of this happened._"

"_You've seen damage done to Seireitei before._"

"_This... this feels different. __It doesn't feel right._"

The three stepped through the gate to view the damage around the tenth division. Toshiro's bright teal eyes took every bit in as he took a deep breath of air. A few members of the tenth division noticed the three and approached. "Hitsugaya Taicho!"

Toshiro flinched suddenly and ducked behind Rangiku. The female fukutaicho frowned at the division members. "Apologies. Taicho's still stressed out from the events."

The small taicho followed the other two towards his quarters. His bright teal eyes looked back at the division members. "_They seem to be disappointed._"

"_Your division members care about your well being._"

"_Really? I though that they only put up with me because I was captain and could get in huge trouble. I thought they didn't want to respect me because of my age._"

"_I think they respect you because of your age._"

"_That makes no sense at all._"

Toshiro stepped into his room and looked around the place. Everything was the same except for a couple of boxes in the room. He walked over to the boxed and peered in. One of his eyebrows went up as he saw the picture at the top of the box. "What is this doing here?"

"A wall of the office was destroyed. This is the paperwork and photos from the shelves that I rescued with the help of Nanao-san."

"That was nice, wasn't it taicho."

"Nice..." Toshiro picked up the picture in one hand. A fear crept into the back of his head that he couldn't place. "Kurosaki... did you look through the pictures. Did you notice what was on them."

"Does it really matter?" Ichigo frowned.

"It matters because they aren't any of your business."

"What do you mean the previous taicho is none of my buisness?"

Toshiro opened his mouth to snap at the orange haired teen. Rangiku interupted what he wanted to say to the teen. "Ichigo... I need to speak to my small taicho about something. He also needs his rest. Could you talk to him about this later?"

"All right. Nanao-san set up a place for me to stay at the tenth division, so I'll go and hang out there."

Toshiro's chest hurt as he tried not to yell at Ichigo. His anger was quite upset with the fact Ichigo had looked at the pictures. "Those pictures were private!"

"Well... it isn't as if Ichigo could avoid looking at them when he gathered him up for you."

"Doesn't he understand that they're important." Toshiro's voice strained and his chest hurt even more.

"I think he knew they were important. There were many other things he could have done, but he took the time to pick up the important items from the office."

Toshiro shook his head as his words chocked out. "No. Ichigo wanted to look at those pictures on purpose. He wants to pry into taicho." The small taicho swallowed. "_Does he think he can replace taicho? Is that why he is being so nice._"

"Taicho! You're being paranoid!"

"_She is right. You are being paranoid._"

"Actually... you're being more paranoid then usual."

Toshiro looked at Rangiku, his entire body tensed up as if something or someone was going to come out of the wall at him. His mouth was twisted up into a pout as he looked at the woman. Rangiku opened her mouth. "What ever is the matter?"

"I don't know." Toshiro looked around the room. The place felt safe and the anxiety that the room would change if a new taicho stepped in ate away kept nagging away at the back of his head. "_I don't want to leave this place._"

Rangiku took a deep breath as she sat down on the bed and patted the mattress. She watched as Toshiro turned and looked at her, his eyes widening suddenly. "You and I need to talk."

"Nobodies going to replace taicho are they?"

The woman's mouth opened. She shook her head. "No. You're still taicho right now." She took a deep breath. "You and I need to talk about something." She watched as the small taicho began to fidget. "We need to talk about why it's inappropriate for you to be sleeping in the same bed with the opposite sex."

Toshiro's mouth opened. The small taicho crossed his arms across his chest. He moved so that he could lean up against the wall. "Do we really have to have this talk?"

"Yes. We do." Rangiku opened her mouth and began to tell the small taicho about the birds and the bees. She watched as the boy's face paled and then became a sickly green. This sickly green color quickly switched to a vivid red. Toshiro stammered at her, trying to tell her that the conversation was completely inappropriate. "Well... exactly who is it that is going to tell you all of this? These are things you need to know. I should have told you sooner I think."

The boy took a deep breath. "It's still an inappropriate conversation."

Rangiku took a deep breath. "I'm going to bring you something to eat. Then you need to be getting to bed.

**M**

The wind blew outside of the tenth division quarters. The small taicho sat up and the covers fell away. His small feet touched down onto the floor and the child walked carefully over to the door that led to Rangiku's quarters. A small hand reached out for the door and tugged in order to try and open the door. The door wouldn't slide open like it normally did and the other hand reached out for the door. The young taicho tugged at the door causing it to rattle.

The child's breath came out ragged and the boy tugged at the door some more. "Ran... Ran-chan..." Ice began to spread out from the handle on the door and out on the wall. The ragged breath of the child now came out in icy puffs. One hand came up to bang on the door. "Ran-chan! Please!"

The door that led to the outside from the captain's quarters slammed open. "Toshiro!"

Ichigo's hands reached down to grab the young taicho's shoulders and pulled him back. Toshiro's hands reached towards the door. "I want Ran-chan."

"Toshiro. Come on. You've got to wake up."

The ice upon the door that led to Rangiku's room cracked with a loud sound and the door slid open. The busty female peered through with eyes wide. "Taicho..." Rangiku hurried forward and wrapped the child into a gentle hug that pulled Toshiro's head forward so that his chin rested on her shoulder. "Come on. Wake up sweetheart."

Two bright teal eyes blinked a couple of times. "Matsumoto..." Toshiro felt his throat tightening. "What happened?"

"I think you were trying to get into my room while you sleepwalked."

The small taicho pulled away, his eyes revealing the fact he felt betrayed. "You always let me come into your room when I've had a nightmare. You know if I don't I'll have nightmares. I have to sleep with someone." The small taicho realized then that Ichigo was in the room as well. He turned his small head to glare at the orange haired teen. His cheeks turned a deep red. "You..."

"Ichigo, please leave." Rangiku took a deep breath of relief as the orange haired teen left. "Taicho... you and I have talked about this."

"You mean sleeping in the same bed as someone of the opposite sex. Aren't you an exception."

"Taicho. You're too old to be sleeping with me anymore."

"But..." Toshiro felt his voice tighten.

"Please get back to bed."

The small taicho swallowed as Rangiku let go of him and went into her room and locked the door again. Toshiro went back to his bed and pulled his knees up to his chest. "_I'm not going to sleep._"

"_That isn't a good idea._"

"_Going to sleep isn't a good idea._" The child's hands reached up to grasp his white hair. "_If I go to sleep the nightmares will come back. They're worse then the ones I had before._"

"_Tell her._"

"_I can't. She really thinks what she's doing is in my best interest._"

"_Kurosaki Ichigo?_"

"_I won't get him involved! __He's not stepping in here! He's not!_"


	10. Social Circles

**Finding Friendship  
><strong>_**Social Circles**_

The orange haired teen worried about the small taicho. Rukia brought news that he could in fact come and collect both Toshiro and Rangiku. He stopped by the room the fukutaicho of the tenth division was staying in and saw that the woman was worrying her knuckles. "Rangiku-san?"

"Ah... Ichigo. What are you doing here?"

"I've come to bring you and Toshiro back to the tenth division."

"That is sweet of you. You didn't need to do that."

"Actually... I did need to do that. I..." The orange haired teen paused and his mouth clamped shut.

"Don't worry. You don't have to explain why. You're fond of my small taicho, aren't you?"

"I think of him as a little brother, if that's what you mean. I'll go and get him now." Ichigo headed back to the room where Toshiro was staying and blinked a couple of times when he saw that Toshiro was curled up into a ball in the corner of the room. The corners of Ichigo's mouth turned down in frustration. Calling out to the small taicho didn't do much to make Toshiro look at the orange haired teen either. It took touching the boy's shoulders to get his attention.

The way Toshiro reacted told Ichigo that the young taicho wanted company of some kind. Something was also bothering the small taicho. The orange haired teen watched as the child taicho looked around his room only to begin to panic upon seeing the pictures in the box. Ichigo's brown eyes widened as he watched the child react negatively. "_Toshiro really does miss my dad. I need to talk to him about this, but I don't know how to speak to him about this subject when he is acting like this._"

Rangiku answered the problem by saying she had something to talk to Toshiro about. He headed off to the room Nanao set up for him and dozed off. He found himself waking up upon feeling Toshiro's rieatsu flare. The orange haired teen pushed back the covers and hurried to the child's room and swung open the door. Seeing the small taicho panic like he was caused his throat to tighten. He hurried over.

Another flare of rieatsu came from Toshiro when the small taicho realized he had blurted out something he wished to keep secret. Rangiku had Ichigo leave to spare Toshiro more feelings of embarrassment. "_I need to talk to her about this in the morning. I know she means well, but I don't think she is doing the right thing._"

He slept through the rest of the night and woke up completely refreshed. He headed towards the offices hoping to Rangiku only to find she wasn't there. She wasn't in the eating area for the division. One of the division members noticed him. "If you're looking for Hitsugaya Taicho I haven't seen him."

Ichigo felt his mouth twist up with worry. "Actually... I was looking for Rangiku-san."

"If you're looking for Matsumoto Ranguku she is likely still in bed or out drinking. It is rather odd that Hitsugaya Taichi isn't up by now."

The orange haired teen let out a deep sigh before heading over to the captain's quarters of the tenth division. He slid the door open slightly and peeked in. The light from the crack in the door filtered in to touch Toshiro's bed. Nothing else was visible which caused Ichigo to open the door a bit more. The orange haired teen stopped short when he saw Toshiro sitting on his bed with his knees pulled up to his chest. Ichigo pushed the door the rest of the way open.

The teen then walked over to the bed. "Toshiro... did you actually get any sleep after I left last night?"

"That's none of your business." The small taicho looked up from what he was doing. The child's eyes couldn't focus on anything as Toshiro's head tried to nod off. The two teal eyes had shadows underneath.

"None of my business? It is rather obvious that you're trying not to fall asleep. Are the nightmares that bad this time. Tell Rangiku-san that you're this bothered. She'll..."

"Don't you dare tell you! As I said, this is none of your business."

"Well... if you're going to not get her to help you then what are you going to do. You can't go without sleeping."

"I sure as hell can try."

Ichigo took a deep breath. "Toshiro..."

"You're not going to replace taicho! I'm not going to let you."

"Toshiro... do you think your taicho is going to come back."

The orange haired teen watched as two bright teal eyes widened. "He's not dead."

"So you do think that he is going to come back." Ichigo reached up and scratched the top of his head. "Toshiro... your taicho isn't going to come back anytime soon."

The boy's cheeks flared up with anger as his teeth clenched. "You! How dare you! You really do think that you can replace him."

"Toshiro... your mind is addled from lack of sleep and what has happened."

"I am completely fine! You're the one whose talking bad about my former taicho."

"I am not."

"You're saying that he isn't going to come back."

"I didn't say he wasn't going to come back. I said that he isn't going to come back anytime soon."

"There is no difference."

"No difference?" Ichigo shook his head. "There is a major difference between the two. It's not as if I'm telling you he's dead."

"Yes, it is!"

The orange teen took a deep breath before swinging out his fist. He watched as Toshiro was knocked back onto the bed. He heard the boy make a sharp breathing sound as he was caught by surprise. "Now see here. When I say that my dad can't come back just yet I mean just that." Ichigo watched as the boy turned over onto his side. The small taicho pushed himself up and then turned to look at the orange haired teen with a horrified look on his face. "Toshiro... what ever is the matter?"

"You... when were you going to tell me?" The boy swung his legs over the bed and turned his head so he couldn't look Ichigo in the eye. The young taicho's voice suddenly strained. "Never mind. Just get out. I don't want to see you."

Ichigo took a deep breath. "Come on Toshiro... it isn't as if..."

The young taicho grabbed a pillow from the bed and flung it at Ichigo. "Just get out! Don't you get the fact I hate you!"

**M**

The taicho of the thirteenth division took a breath of fresh air upon being released from the custody of the forth division. The white haired man grabbed his paperwork and headed to the conference room Kyoraku Taicho had set up for discussing the future plans of the Gotei Thirteen. Nanao carried her usual clipboard and prepared tea. She looked up when Ukitake entered and smiled. "I'm gad you feel well enough to participate."

"Even if I wasn't feeling well enough to participate... this realty isn't something I want to miss out on. We are after all discussing the future of the young ones. I'm really worried about Hitsugaya Taicho."

The smile on Nanao's face fell as her eyes darted away. "He hasn't been doing well. His behavior is odd... odder then it usually is."

"So you've noticed as well that he doesn't act like a normal child."

Nanao pushed up her eyeglasses in frustration. "Was I like that when I was younger?"

"No. You were more open to socializing with others your age."

"I always wonder if that had anything to do with Ran. She was always getting me to go outside of my comfort zone." The female frowned. "Perhaps then what Hitsugaya Taicho happens to need is something to push him outside of his comfort zone. It need to be done in a way that he can't avoid it either. He's rather known for avoiding situations that place him outside his comfort zone."

"Ran-chan tell you that last part?" Ukitake leaned back in his chair. "Who all is going to be coming to this meeting?"

Nanao began to run down a list on her clipboard. "My taicho is of course going to be here. Soifon is still healing up. The taicho of the third and ninth divisions are placed on bed rest by the forth division, but knowing them they won't be able to stay and will be seeing to the repairs involving their division. Isane is representing the forth. Hirako Taicho is still in forth division care and lavishing every moment of it. Kuchiki Taicho plans on being here. Tetsuzaemon will be here representing his division on this matter as his taicho is still..."

Ukitake watched as the female stopped speaking due to not being sure how to tactfully word what she wanted to say. "He's still stuck in a form that isn't conducive to him helping out as a taicho."

"As you know there is nobody to represent the eighth division at this point in time. Kenpachi is wishing to keep Yachiru away from this meeting for obvious reasons and his third and fifth seat are still in the forth. A certain taicho of the twelfth division feels this is poppycock and thinks things should remain the same. … and that the children should just toughen up. As for the tenth division... Kurosaki Ichigo will be sitting in."

"Ichigo wishes to sit in?"

"Apparently Kurosaki Ichigo is worried about Hitsugaya Taicho as well. Since this is not an official captain's meeting... well..." Nanao pushed her glasses up. "... he took an interest in the pictures of the Shiba twins."

"Why shouldn't he? Isshin is after all his father." Ukitake leaned back.

"So you knew?"

"Shunshui and I both knew." The white haired taicho let out a deep sigh. "Does that really matter?"

"The two of you kept this from Rangiku and Hitsugaya Taicho. Isn't that..." Nanao shook her head. "Never mind. I'm still wrapping my mind around the idea that Isshin has a child. He was one of the last people I expected to ever be a father, while Kaien and Miyako... I was waiting for the day they would announce they were expecting."

"About..."

"To be honest my dad is one of the last people I expect to be a father as well." Ichigo peeked into the room. "I came to talk to you about Toshiro."

Ukitake waved his hand for Ichigo to enter. "Come in. This meeting is actually not just about him, but the other children. Your input on this will be much appreciated." The man turned his head towards the cup of tea Nanao set in front of him. "Kaien and Miyako as parents... what cruel irony." The man took a deep sip of his tea. "They were unable to have children."

"Wh..." Nanao found herself shaking her head. "But... just before she died. Miyako was excited about the prospect of children."

"That's because they planned on adopting Hitsugaya Taicho. They were in the process when they were killed." Ukitake looked Ichigo in the eye. "I'm telling you this because I think you should know how close Toshiro was to your father and your uncle."

Ichigo looked down at the table and began to tap his fingers. "That might have been nice to know before I upset Toshiro a bit ago. Then again I think he would be angry with me no matter what I said. He's not getting any sleep. Rangiku-san's not letting him sleep with her so he decided to not let himself fall asleep. Why can't she let him? I mean, she's like a mother to him is she not?"

Ukitake took a deep breath. "There was an incident we would much rather not go into that didn't involve Ran-chan, but instead another female." The man placed his hands to his lips. "Isane-chan will be here today at the meeting, so I'll have her draw up a medicine so that he could sleep. Though truth be told it would be better to have someone he knows sleep with him."

"How about Kurosaki-san?"

"He's really pissed with me, otherwise I would offer."

"We'll have to make it an order." Kyoraku peeked from the outside of the window.

Nanao's clipboard came down on his head. "How long have you been there?"

The head captain rubbed his head before climbing in over the windowsill. "Now, now Nanao-chan. I really didn't mean it seem like I was shirking my duties. I was just waiting for the other captains to arrive." The man pointed to his mouth. "If you smell my breath then you know I wasn't drinking. That has to wait."

Ichigo took a deep breath and leaned back until Byakuya, Iba and Isane arrived. Kyoraku let out a cough. "I guess the first order of business is to ask how those Quincy girls are doing."

"I can tell you that they aren't very grateful, but I can't blame them for not being grateful." Byakuya held his hands in front of him. "They are so far well behaved. The young female is a handful as much as Hitsugaya Taicho can be. Both are too stubborn for their own good... except where as Hitsugaya Taicho is quiet and reserved in his stubbornness, this girl is the opposite."

Ukitake took a deep breath. "She was trouble even when she was in forth division."

Isane frowned. "_Both_ were trouble while they were in the forth division, but in different ways."

Iba leaned forward. "What about young Hitsugaya? Rumor has it he is far from doing well. The third and fifth seat of the eleventh division told me what he did to them. It has to still be eating away at him while it is true that he wasn't in control of his actions. Isn't there a way that we can get him to act his age without belittling him?"

Nanao pushed at her glasses. "Speaking up about something Rangiku and I have talked about that has concerned her... quite a few students from the academy that are graduating are now the same age as Hitsugaya Taicho. There is no longer an age gap."

Kyoraku whistled. "It's been that long has it." The man pulled on his straw hat. "He's going to have to interact with his age group. While us adults respect them, his age group isn't going to if he avoids them."

The fukutaicho of the forth division frowned. "Rumor has it some of the ones who have graduated already are looking down on him."

"Well... the first thing we need to do is to have you draw up a sleeping remedy for him so he doesn't have to have nightmares. If he isn't getting any sleep then he's going to be a pain to deal with." Ukitake looked at the table. "Ichigo... you don't mind staying with Toshiro as much as possible. I know you have school in the world of the living and other things you have to take care of... no, need to take care of... but the more time you spend with him the better."

"He's not exactly pleased with me right now."

Isane took a deep breath. "This may be in part the fact he is paranoid. I... this may just be me... but I think we're going to have problems getting him to do anything productive. He seems to be looking for safety. So... if Ichigo could spend time with him. I mean, it would do him some good."

"How are we going to get Hitsugaya Taicho to interact with people outside of his social circle after we get him interacting with people within his social circle?"

"Hold on... this is assuming that Toshiro is reacting as bad as you guys say he is." Ichigo looked at the table. "Though truth be told... he is reacting pretty badly."

"Perhaps we should shift to the problem of integrating the young Quincy into Soul Society?" Byakuya added something else. "Actually... perhaps there is a way to solve all the problems. Hitsugaya Taicho's social issues, the fact he needs to start interacting with his age peer group, the fact the young Quincy need to start interacting with the young Shinigami."

"The only thing missing from that list is the Shinigami and Quincy learning each others abilities. I mean... it sounds much like middle school life, what with clubs, sports..." Ichigo blinked a couple of times at seeing Nanao's face. "What did I say?"

"Club?" The female looked at her clipboard.

Kyoraku raised an eyebrow. "Do you have an idea?"

"This may be pushing things a bit, but we do have a Shinigami woman's society and a Shinigami mens society. We fukutaicho also meet up and it tends to be more like a club meeting then anything."

"You mean have a Shinigami kids society?" Byakuya raised his eyebrows in a rather amused manner.

"We could involve some of the students at the academy to balance things out. They haven't graduated yet and there has been talk about implementing some kind of curriculum involving the Quincy abilities as well as allowing some of the Quincy to take courses there if they wished."

Ichigo took a deep breath. "There is one problem with this."

"And what would that be?" Iba raised his eyebrows up in curiosity.

"Toshiro's not going to want to participate. That's what Ichigo means." Ukitake sighed. "I think we should still try. It is after all our best option."


	11. Making the Announcement

**Finding Friendship  
><strong>_**Making the Announcement**_

The movements of the academy students were restricted which in turn started up a new rumor. Some of the students felt their movements were restricted because of some kind of conspiracy. A few days after returning to the academy the teachers made an announcement to the afternoon classes. Terunori sat in front of Hana two rows and slightly to the right while Hana chatted away with the friends she had made at the academy when the teacher for their morning class came in.

"A few of you have been wondering what exactly has been going on and who the enemy happened to be." This statement caused all of the students to sit up in order to pay attention. "The enemy in this particular case happens to be a group we have for over a thousand years called the Quincy. What we used to teach in the academy were that the Quincy were a tribe of humans who happened to roam the world of the living."

"The truth though is the Quincy were a group fractured away from Soul Society that was made to roam the world of the living because of a difference in opinions on what to do in regards of Hollows. We sent Hollows on their way to Soul Society while the Quincy instead completely destroyed them. Let me make it clear that destroying a Hollow upsets the balance. This is one of the reasons for the lessons we teach you and something some of the Quincy have moved away from."

"The Gotei Thirteen wishes to integrate the Quincy back into Soul Societies system."

The teacher's words caused an uproar from the students. One of the students stood up. "Sensei! Are the Quincy not our enemy? Why should we put up with them?"

"The Quincy as a group are not the enemy. That is what the Gotei Thirteen and the forty-six have decreed."

"Yes. But do you agree with them?"

The teacher remained silent for a few minutes. "The Quincy used to not be our enemy. The hope is that it can be this way again. The Gotei Thirteen admits they are taking a chance in doing this." A few of the students continued to mutter with each other. "One of the steps is to reintroduce some of the lost techniques. The other step is to form a Shinigami kid's society much in line of the Shinigami women's society and the Shinigami men's society. The taicho have asked..."

The student raised his hand again. "Is this the reason for the restriction of movement of the academy students?"

"The reason for the restriction of movement of the academy students was due to the clean up going on outside of the academy. This should be finished in a few days and the restriction of movement will in fact be removed. As I was saying. The taicho have asked for us to select a few students to participate in the Shinigami kid's society. We will be thinking carefully of our selection the next few days. Now... onto the lesson."

The tension in the classroom didn't go away and by the time the students finished their classes more gossiping was going on. Hana sought out Tenrunori with her friends. "You said you were going to ask someone about information."

"I haven't been able to speak to them because we have been restricted in our movements."

The voice of the student who kept interrupting the teacher was suddenly heard. "Don't listen to Tenrunori. Everyone knows he failed to get into the school twice and he failed last years curriculum. He has little to no chance of being selected."

"What makes you think that you will be selected Kawasawa? Tenrunori frowned at the boy. "Aren't the students in higher grades more likely to be picked then us?"

"They're going to be picking the gifted and brightest as this is a chance for them on their future career path. I've already been told that I've had promise. As for you Tenrunori... the older students laugh at you every time you say that you will be the youngest taicho ever. They don't laugh at me."

Hana looked at the ground. "So... being selected would be a career boost? That doesn't make much sense."

**M**

Ichigo knocked on the door to the small taicho's room. "Toshiro?

A sound came from the room of the room's occupant moving towards the door. "Go away Kurosaki. I don't want to speak to you."

Isane took a deep breath. "You have the choice of Ichigo staying the night with you or taking the sleeping drought I've prepared for you."

The door slammed open and two bright teal eyes with bags underneath glared at Ichigo. "I hate you Kurosaki."

Isane handed the medicine to Ichigo and turned to leave. Ichigo frowned at the small taicho and scratched the top of his head. "I figured you would say something like that. I don't believe you though. I think you're just mad at me. We need to talk."

"No we don't." Toshiro walked a few feet away and turned around with his arms crossed.

"You're being quite unfair Toshiro."

"Hitsugaya Taicho... you know that well enough."

"How can I tell you something when I myself didn't know." Ichigo watched as Toshiro turned to look at him. The bright teal eyes revealed the fact the young taicho felt hurt and betrayed. "I've been wanting to talk to you about it ever since I found out. This stupid war got in the way though."

Toshiro turned around. His eyes flashed with anger. How can you be so happy about this? How can you not be angry with him."

Angry with him?" Ichigo's face fell. "I've known since Aizen that my dad was a Shinigami. I've been angry at him for well over a year for not telling me that much. I'm still upset with him. There is something more important to me though then being angry at my dad."

"And what would that be!" Toshiro's tensed up.

"You."

Two teal eyes widened from disbelief. The child taicho's head jerked one way and then the other. Toshiro's mouth trembled as he tried to make sense of what he heard. His small frame jerked away and he headed towards the door.

"Hey... where are you going?"

"Don't know. This is your room... not mine."

"Get your butt back here. I won't hesitate to haul..."

Ichigo's words were interrupted by Toshiro flinching as he tried stepping through the back and slammed into a bookshelf. A few of the books ended up falling off onto the ground. The small child taicho collapsed quickly to his knees and his hands went up to cover his ears. The boy's breathing came in a ragged manner.

Ichigo stepped over and knelt down. He carefully reached down and picked Toshiro up and carried him over to the bed. The small taicho flinched as Ichigo picked the boy up. He set Toshiro on the bed and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder causing the child to flinch again. "Toshiro... I'm going to remove your shirt. I need to have a look at your back."

Toshiro simply stared forward as his arms lay limp to his sides. The pupils of his eyes dilated. Ichigo pulled up the undershirt of the Quincy uniform and received the response of a hissing sound indicating Toshiro was in quite a bit of pain. Ichigo frowned at seeing the bruising on Toshiro's back. "You idiot." Ichigo reached forward and gripped the sides of Toshiro's head gently. "I need you to stay here."

The small taicho's breath came out as a puff of frosting mist. "I..."

"Toshiro... it's the job of the older sibling to look out for their younger siblings."

"I'm older..."

"Not physically. I'll be back once I find Isane-san or Inoue. Hold tight until then."

"I'm tired."

Ichigo frown. "I know. Try holding out until I get back."

The orange haired teen sped out of the room and headed in the direction Isane went in. The female was easy to find because of her height and she turned when the teen called out for her. "Toshiro's had an accident."

The female fukutaicho took a deep breath. "Rangiku isn't going to like hearing about this. By the way... I didn't see her."

"I saw her at the offices on my way to the meeting trying to work. I didn't dare approach her as she looked upset."

"Why wouldn't she be. She likely blames what happened to her small taicho as her fault. She's also upset about the incident that happened in the forth division." The two arrived back at the tenth division captain's quarters and saw that Toshiro was looking at the ceiling. Each breath was another puff of icy mist. Isane hurried over and touched his shoulders causing him to flinch. "My goodness Hitsugaya Taicho. You're more exhausted then I thought. Perhaps you should take the sleeping drought."

She watched as the small taicho shook his head only to wince and reach up a hand to his neck. Isane took a deep breath as she looked at the child taicho's back. "Exactly what happened to your back?"

"He tried leaving but freaked out when he got to the door. He flash stepped into the bookshelf."

Isane took another deep breath and began to use healing kido. "I'll have someone from the tenth division bring you meals. He really needs to get some sleep and I don't want to leave him alone." The female fukutaicho eventually moved to bandaging the small taicho's back where he hit the shelf. The tall female couldn't help but shake her head. "I don't think Kyoraku or Ukitake Taicho are going to like hearing about this."

"Do you have to tell them?" Ichigo sat down next to the white haired child.

"I don't have much choice. The fact Hitsugaya taicho doesn't wish to leave the room is honestly a problem."

The small taicho turned to look at her. "Am I in trouble?"

Isane blinked a couple of times before looking at Ichigo with a look of worry. "No. No, you're not in trouble Hitsugaya Taicho. We're just worried about you."

**M**

Ukitake took a deep breath as he watched Kiyone chasing Shino and Ryunosuke around the thirteenth division. Sentaro popped up from behind something and made a face at the young Shinigami causing them to run in the other direction. He watched as Rukia came into the court yard carrying a tray with a pot of tea and cups on it along with treats. One of her eyebrows rose up as did the corner of her mouth. "Now, now. Stop teasing the new recruits."

Kiyone giggled. "I remember when you were a new recruit Rukia-chan!"

"Yeah! I remember that too!" Sentaro let out a deep laugh and placed his hands on his hips.

Rukia sighed before bringing the trey over to Ukitake Taicho. The trey made a clink when it was set down "Those two are drunk again. They're not setting a good example for the new recruits."

Ukitake let out a laugh as she handed him a glass of tea. "I love their youth though." The white haired taicho waved his hands for the children to come over and see him. "I've asked you two to come and see me for a reason."

The two Shinigami sat came over and sat on the other side of Rukia. Shino blew on her tea while Ryonosuke simply held the cup. The young male Shinigami looked at Ukitake nervously. "We aren't in trouble sir?"

"No. actually... do you two know how there is a woman's society and a men's society?"

Shino stopped sipping her tea. "Those groups are supposed to work towards promoting the rights of both groups but also provide a place for the members to spend time together."

"The captains wish to make a kids' society as well."

The youngest female frowned. "Do all the captains actually wish for this kids' society?"

Ryonosuke looked at Shino with a look of confusion. "Why would do you say that?"

"I doubt Hitsugaya Taicho would want to participate." The girl took another sip of her tea.

"Well..." The corner of Ukitake's mouth twitched.

"He likely thinks he is better then us."

Rukia's eyes widened. "Why do you think that Shino-chan?"

The girl frowned as she looked at her tea. "Ryonusuke and I passed by him a few times. He looked at us funny. He didn't try to speak with us either."

"We are going to try and get Hitsugaya Taicho to participate." Ukitake set his cup down. "One of the rules for this kid's society is that there will be no ranks involved. Nobody is allowed to wear the uniforms to the meeting."

Kiyone frowned. "That is a strange rule."

"Well... we're having the Quincy children and academy students participating."

"Wouldn't that make it so that he is less likely to participate?" Shino frowned.

Rukia took a deep breath. "Try to give Hitsugaya Taicho a chance. You may find that he cares less about his rank then you think."

Ryonosuke's eyes widened. "Rukia nii-chan..." Shino quickly thumped the young male Shinigami on top of the head. "I mean... Kuchiki Fukutaicho... do you know Hitsugaya Taicho? You speak as if you know him. Do you know what he is like?"

The small fukutaicho frowned. "Well... Ichigo actually knows him better then I do. I can't say I've had a bad interaction with him though."

Shino sighed. "You're also high ranking and older then us."

Ukitake smiled at the young Shinigami. "I want you to give him a chance if we manage to get him to come."

The girl turned her head slightly and looked at her taicho out of the corner of her eye. "You sound like you aren't sure you're going to be able to get him to come."

Kiyone suddenly giggled. "That's because Hitsugaya Taicho is shy... and cute."

"You're drunk." Shino rolled her eyes.

"Yup. We're both drunk." Sentaro laughed. The taicho of the thirteenth breathed a deep sigh wishing suddenly that the two third seats wouldn't drink as much as they did.


	12. Pillow Punked

**Finding Friendship  
><strong>_**Pillow Punked**_

"I think the English song _Another Brick in the Wall_ is fitting for this situation." Candace sat on the wooden porch outside of the room the Kuchiki clan provided for the four girls. The taller of the two blonde females worried her lip in an attempt not to loose control of her anger. She watched as the sun rose up. "Plus... I ain't no child."

"That Shinigami said this would mean there would be more Quincy in the Shinigami Kids Society." Meninas pulled the Chappy pillow Rukia provided her closer to her chest.

"It's called the Shinigami Kids Society, not the Quincy Kids Society." Liltotto rolled her eyes while she picked at the Japanese sweets. The corners of her mouth turned down as she wasn't able to have her usual favorites when it came to treats.

Bambietta stared at the wall. "We don't have anything to do with Shinigami. Period. Not even their academy students. No... especially their students from that stupid academy."

Candace raised an eyebrow. "I might just join to spite you and make you mad."

"We're not being given a choice... are we?" Meninas puled the pillow even closer. "They want to foster better relationships between Quincy and Shinigami. Is that such a bad thing?"

"As if Quincy and Shinigami can have good relationships with each other." Bambietta continued to stare at the wall. "I hate them. I really hate the Shinigami. I hate that stupid academy even more."

Liltotto let out a deep breath. "Can you stop with the Shinigami hate already? We all hate the Shinigami. I get the reason why _you _hate the Shinigami,"

"Do you have any idea why she hates the academy?" Candace leaned back so she was looking backwards.

"No clue. That's actually new."

"That Kuchiki Rukia is nice though." Meninas muttered into her pillow.

"She's only being nice to brainwash us."

"Yeah... I might just join to spite you and see you foaming at the mouth. Did getting turned into a zombie damage your brain or something?" Candace turned around and slid her legs so they were no longer hanging off the edge of the wooden porch.

"Don't club meetings have nice treats and fun games." Meninas closed her eyes. "I'm bored."

"All of us are bored." Liltotto made to roll her eyes only to stop when something the magenta haired Quincy said. "Wait... nice treats? I would join for that."

"Sell outs."

A grin spread across Candace's face. "I guess you'll be the only one left out. Well.. except for Gigi." The older blond watched as Bambietta turned to look at her with a horrified face. "You don't like Gigi anymore, do you." The violet haired female's head snapped around as she tried to ignore the older female. Candace frowned. "That Shinigami will be there." Bambieta turned her head slowly back to look at the other girl, her eyes widening as the thought hit her. "He is after all a child. You can tease him all you want."

"Fine. I'll join too." Bambietta snapped her head around and leaned on one knee as she went back to sulking.

The quarters of the tenth division captain was dark as the small taicho lay on the bed. One arm was underneath his body as Toshiro snored softly. The sound of his soul phone went off causing the young taicho to sit up with a jerking movement. This caused Toshiro to let out a wincing sound do to his movements causing him pain. The white haired youths entire body tensed up only for his shoulders to relax when he realized it was in fact his phone. His hand reached out for the phone just as the mattress next to him shifted.

Toshiro's bright teal eyes took in the name of the incoming caller and blinked a couple of times. His small body tensed up again when he heard Ichigo's voice from behind him. "Toshiro... who is it."

"It's..." The young taicho's eyes darted towards Ichigo and then back to the phone. His head also jerked in a tense manner and his hand went back to grip his neck. His bright teal eyes widened as Ichigo yanked the phone out of Toshiro's hand.

"Yukio?"

Toshiro turned to look at Ichigo as the orange haired teen blinked a couple of times. A gurgling sound was heard from his mouth as he tried reaching for the phone. Ichigo of course moved slightly so that the young taicho instead ended up sprawled across Ichigo's lap. Toshiro let his face fall into the mattress of the bed as he let out a groan. His body tensed up due to how sore his body happened to feel.

"Hello?" Ichigo blinked a couple of times. "Yes. It's me. The person that killed that person. Why are you calling Toshiro of all people."

"Kurosaki..."

The orange haired teen blinked a couple of times before looking down at the small taicho who was sitting up in a rather stiff manner while rubbing the back of his neck. "Sure. I can put you onto speaker phone. Let me turn on the light so I can see what I'm doing with Toshiro's phone."

The light switched on and Ichigo stared at Toshiro. A hand reached out to ruffle the white head of hair as the orange haired teen let out a sigh. He fiddled with the phone and changed it to the speaker function and placed the phone on the nightstand. Yukio's voice came over the phone. "I've been trying to get through for over a week now. This means something happened in Soul Society, doesn't it?"

Toshiro looked away and ground his teeth from frustration. "What does it matter?"

"Aren't we friends?"

"Not really." The small taicho moved to sitting in a traditional kneeling position. "What exactly do you want?"

"I want you to try out another one of my new games."

Toshiro swallowed as the color left his face. "If it means being zapped into your game again then the answer is no."

Ichigo's eyebrow's went up with amusement as Yukio continued to speak. "That means the answer is yes if I don't zap you into the game."

"That..." Toshiro looked up in time to see Ichigo's face suddenly twist up with amusement. "This isn't funny Kurosaki."

"I think this is hysterical. I think it is great that you've made a friend."

"We're not friends. He sees me as a guinea pig of sorts. It's rather irritating, particularly when I have _better _things to do."

"Come on. I do in fact think of you as friend. And what do you mean you have better things to do. Are you referring to hitting on Karen-chan? Because..."

"I do not hit Kurosaki's sister! If I laid a hand on her she would beat me up!" This statement from Toshiro caused a silence to fall over the room. Ichigo blinked a couple of times before falling backwards laughing. The small taicho's face suddenly paled. "What... what did I say wrong?"

A sigh from Yukio came over the phone. "What I said just went over your head Toshiro."

"Hitsugaya!"

"So you don't want to be friends?"

"That's not what I said! We're not yet friends. There is a difference."

Ichigo sat up. "I'm sorry Yukio. There are certain things that go over Toshiro's head."

"Shut up Kurosaki. You're not helping."

Yukio spoke over the speaker. "As I said... I have another game for you to try out. When is the next time you're going to be in the world of the living?"

"The next..." Toshiro quickly chocked as his bright teal eyes darted to the door. "I'm busy."

"Busy? Doing what?"

Ichigo frowned as he leaned forward as a frown spread across his face. "Sorry Yukio. Toshiro's not able to come because he is unable to leave his quarters at this point in time.

"What? He isn't under house arrest is he?"

The orange haired teen looked up at Toshiro with a frown on his face. "No..."

Toshiro looked at Ichigo with horror, his mouth twisting down. "You shouldn't have said that."

Yukio grumbled from the other side. "Exactly what happened?"

"None of your business!"

"What ever you floats your boat. I guess I'll have to try and find a way to get to Soul Society."

"Don't you dare! I'll be in a lot of trouble if you do that!"

"Ah. Here's the real reason you can't admit we're friends. You're afraid of what other people will think."

"I am not! You do realize that some people will try to kill you if you come here."

Ichigo's mouth twisted down in a frown. "Actually... I don't think there would be anyone who would object to Yukio showing up. I mean... most of the people who might have... Yamamoto for example... are dead." Toshiro raised a finger to his mouth to try and shush the orange haired teen only to find himself falling to the bed and letting out a sound indicating he was in pain. His two bright teal eyes glared at Ichigo. The orange haired teen let out a deep sigh. "Sure... now you've got plenty of sleep and can now throw death glares at me."

"The head taicho is dead? Interesting..." Yukio's voice continued to come out over the speaker phone. Toshiro quickly dove for the phone and shut it off.

Ichigo let out a deep sigh. "That was rather rude you know."

"I don't care if it was rude!" Toshiro snapped. "I don't want Vorarlberna knowing that I am unable to leave my own room! Do you know how close you came to blurting that out?"

"Sorry..."

"You're not sorry! You're a jerk."

"Ahh... so you're mad at me again."

"I am not." The small taicho's eyes blinked a couple of times. "All right. Maybe I am. Just... make sure he stays away!"

Ichigo took a deep breath before flopping back down onto the bed. "I don't know about you, but I want to get some more sleep."

Toshiro quickly grabbed a pillow and hit the orange haired teen on the head before flopping down letting out a hiss of pain. The small taicho rolled over so he wouldn't have to look at Ichigo and pulled his blanket over his shoulders in a defensive manner.

A pink blur hurtled through the halls of the forth divisions makeshift accommodations. The small fukutaicho of the forth division still wore the nurses cap on top of her head and a smile spread across her face. She hurried into the room Ikkaku and Yumichika were in. "Hi baldy! Yun-yun!"

Ikkaku felt the corner of his eye twitch. "Kusajishi Fukutaicho... what do we owe this pleasure for."

"Did you know Aniki got turned into a zombie?"

Yumichika frowned at the small girl. "Why are you acting like that is a good thing?"

"It isn't?" Yachiru placed a finger to her mouth. "Zombies are cool though. I watched a bunch of zombie movies the other day with my second second chairwoman in command."

Ikkaku let out an irritated sound. "That sounded weird."

"Shut up baldy. Zombie's are cool. They have weirdly colored skin. Did Aniki have strangely colored skin."

"No," Ikkau said while Yumichika said yes. The two looked at each other frowning.

"It can't be both. Which is it?"

The third seat of the eleventh division rolled his eyes. "Being a zombie isn't a cool thing. We ended up attacked by Hitsugaya Taicho."

"You're just mad Aniki beat you when he played with you guys." The small girl bounced from one bed to another.

"He wasn't playing with us." Yumichika snapped.

"He fought you didn't he?"

Ikkaku sighed. "Kusajishi Fukutaicho... I want you to listen to me very carefully." He watched as two dark pink eyes turned to glare at him. "He wasn't playing a game with us. It was the person who was using him as a doll."

Yachiru folded her arms across her chest. "How is that fair? That's two on one."

"Actually... the fight was two on two." Yumichika's tone of voice came across as bitter.

"You're not helping." Ikkaku shook his head. He turned to Yachiru. "That person made Hitsugaya Taicho do things he wouldn't normally do. You know full well he wouldn't attack a friend."

"Oh... yeah. That's true. Aniki wouldn't do that. That is why he is my Aniki. He's nice to me and treats me like a little sister. He even plays games with me. Except the game Kenny likes to play." Yachiru frowned. "You mean that person treated Aniki like a doll?"

"Yes. You could say that." Ikkaku looked away from the girl and crossed his arms across his chest.

"That's really mean!"

Yumichika let out a deep breath. "Can we talk about anything else? Don't you have any other kind of news?"

"Yes. We're going to have a Shinigami Kids Society." Yachiru bounced again from one bed to another and back again. "We're going to make friends with the Quincy."

Both male members of the eleventh division paled. The fifth seat frowned at the girl. "With the Quincy?"

"The girls are actually very nice. One of the girls is almost as short as I am. Another's name is candy. Another has hair that looks like mouse so I am going to call her Mouse."

Yumichika blinked a couple of times. "Mouse?"

"I think she means moouse."

"No! I mean mouse!" Yachiru took the pillow from behind Yumichika's back and bounced over to the other bed and hit Ikkaku over the head.

"Hey! Stop that!"

"Stupid baldy!" The pillow came down on his head again.


	13. Hacked Off

**Finding Friendship  
><strong>_**Hacked Off**_

The main computer room of the twelfth division was dim and the lights of the computer cast an eerie glow. Tsubokura Rin sucked on a lolipop as he watched the computer screen. The young Shinigami's eyes blinked a couple of times when his screen went completely black for a few minutes. The stick of his lollipop went up and then down. A mummer came from his mouth as he watched the screen and hit a few keys on the keyboard trying to fix the problem. He made to lean over to push a particular button when an 8-bit creature came across the screen.

Rin stared at the creature without blinking. A speech bubble came up. "_Hello._"

"Hello." Rin blinked a couple of times. "Hold on." The young Shinigami's fingers hit the key board. "_Hello._"

"_I am Yukio._"

"_When you say Yukio you mean the Fullbringer?_"

"_Yes._"

"_What do you want?_" Rin glanced nervously at Akon and Hiyoosu. The young Shinigami took a deep breath and thought to himself. "_I didn't exactly do well when we were attacked the first time. I hurt my comrades. No way they'll trust what I'm saying. But still..._"

"_I want to play with Hitsugaya Toshiro._"

The young Shinigami took a deep breath. He turned his head to look at Akon. "Sir..."

The other scientist came over. "What is it Rin?"

"I think the Fullbringer... the one who can do that weird game thing. I think he's hacked our computers."

Akon stared at the computer screen and the dancing 8-bit computer. The message, "_I want to play with Hitsugaya Toshiro," _remained on the screen.

The third seat took a deep breath. "Move over Rin." The young Shinigami complied and Akon moved in to begin trying to take back over the computer.

"_That will not work._"

Rin scratched the top of his head. "You can actually communicate with him by typing into the keyboard."

"You should have gotten my attention sooner Rin." Akon let out a deep sigh before typing into the computer. "_Why did you hack our computers?_"

"_The only other way I have in contacting Soul Society is to call Toshiro on his phone. He hung up on me._"

Akon frowned. "_Hitsugaya Taicho has had contact with the Fullbringer without us knowing. I guess we could go back and check the phone logs." _The third seat shook his head in frustration before typing into the computer. "_Why have you had contact with Hitsugaya Taicho?_"

"_Don't worry. Betraying Soul Society is one of the last things he would ever do. He plays the video games I make and I have another one for him to play._"

"What?"

Rin turned to look at Akon in confusion. "Hitsugaya Taicho playing video games."

"_I have a hard time believing that Hitsugaya Taicho played any of your video games. Hitsugaya Taicho doesn't like to play._"

"_He would say that as well... that he doesn't like to play._"

Akon let out a deep breath before turning to Rin. "Send a message to the head captain. We'll continue this conversation when he gets here."

"Won't our taicho be mad about that?" The small Shinigami twiddled his thumbs and looked up at the ceiling in a nervous manner. "What about the paperwork?"

"I think the head taicho will be mad if we don't let him know that this Fullbringer is trying to contact Hitsugaya Taicho." Akon watched as the 8-bit image spread to the other screens. "Of course... I doubt taicho won't find out about this."

Mayuri let out a yell as he waved his hand at the ceiling. "What does this hacker mean, 'he would say that as well... that he doesn't like to play'!"

"Get the message the head taicho before our taicho destroys the computers." Akon felt a headache coming on.

Mayuri let out more curses as he tried to remove the young hacker from his system.

**M**

The head taicho arrived at the twelfth division in time to see Mayuri pacing back and forth muttering to himself while a train of 8-bit figures marched across the screen. Kyoraku felt the corners of his mouth twist up in amusement at the line each spouted off. "Baka."

"I didn't quite understand the message I received as I don't honestly understand the technical lingo, but I did get the idea you were having trouble." Kyoraku titled his hat down as he let out a chuckle.

"You! Akon made a move again!"

"Akon's not stupid. He says this has something to do with the Fullbringer with the video game powers... I'm assuming the one that can create alternate realities. It also has to deal with Hitsugaya Taicho."

Mayuri stood still for a few minutes pointing at Kyoraku with his mouth shut. "This has something to do with Hitsugaya Taicho?" The man turned to look at his third seat. "Akon... why didn't you tell me this had something to do with Hitsugaya Taicho?"

The third seat instead remained silent while Kyoraku stepped over. "If you don't mind Kurotsuchi I am going to be taking over."

"I do mind."

"Kurotsuchi..."

"Fine. I shan't help you if you need it."

"So what happened here?"

Rin blinked a couple of times. "Um... well. This Fullbringer Yukio went and hacked our computers. He says he has been communicating with Hitsugaya Taicho. We don't know for how long. He also says Hitsugaya Taicho has been playing video games. That must be a lie though. I mean... Hitsugaya Taicho doesn't do things like that."

"I take it there is a way to communicate through this device?"

"You just type into the keyboard. When you finish what you want to type out you hit this key here." Akon stood up from the seat. "Have at it."

Kyoraku sat down and cracked his knuckles. He began to type out the message. "_Hello Yukio. I am the head taicho of the Gotei Thirteen._"

"_Who replaced the old man?_"

A frown appeared on the new head taicho's face. "_How did you find out?_"

"_Kurosaki Ichigo is an idiot. He pretty much said that the old man is no longer there preventing me from visiting Toshiro._"

Akon leaned over. "It sounds like this Yukio person is trying to stalk Hitsugaya Taicho."

"Yes. It does." Kyoraku typed out something else. "_Are you stalking Hitsugaya Taicho_."

"_No. He wouldn't have given me his Soul Phone number if that was the case. He isn't stupid._"

"_What do you want?_" Kyoraku watched as a phone number appeared on the screen. The man let out a deep sigh before pulling out his Soul Phone and dialing the number in. He turned his head to Mayuri before pushing the button. "I shall be taking this call away from you."

"I should be able to hear this conversation. It did involve my computers."

"If Yukio-kun wanted the conversation to be between more then one person then he would have simply kept typing. Don't you dare monitor this call." Kyoraku heard Mayuri curse as he headed out of the room.

**M**

The computers of Yukio hummed as he took a bite of his cup ramen. His phone rang and he picked up the phone and placed it to his head. "Is this who I think it is?"

"_This is Kyoraku Shunshui, the head captain of the Gotei Thirteen. What is it you want with Hitsugaya Taicho?_"

"Simple. I want to come and visit him in Soul Society. I want to bring him one of my new games to try out."

"_It can't be that simple._"

"Actually... it is. He's the best beta tester I've ever come across. This is despite the fact he has no interest in video games let alone any understanding." Yuki slurped his cup of ramen.

"_Yes... but how did you happen to have Hitsugaya Taicho start beta test for you?_"

"He visits Karin-chan in the world of the living. I left a note that perked his curiosity."

"_Why single him out? Was it revenge for that incident?_"

Yukio took another slurp of his ramen. "I picked him as my opponent because he looked like he would be fun to play with."

"_You mean you thought he would be fun to toy with._"

The young Fullbringer paused before setting his cup of ramen down. "True. I wanted to toy with him because he looked to be younger then me. For him to be a captain he has to have had caring parents. I didn't like that. I actually didn't want to kill him at first. I was enjoying having him work through my game. Then he managed to piss me off as well as beat my game. I realized I wanted to play with him again."

"_First... Hitsugaya Taicho doesn't understand the meaning of play. Second... even if he did... that battle was only 'play' in the minds of the eleventh division._"

"I know. I had him play my games manually after that as well. Not to say I didn't send him into the games again. This time there was no end game if someone died. He doesn't exactly appreciate that. A lot of kids like the idea of being sent into a game to play. He said he doesn't want to test my games if I do that again, so I told him he said that means he agreed to beta test for me if I didn't do that this time."

"_That doesn't mean he agreed._"

"I know that, you know that. He thinks I'm right. This has actually worked the other times and he gives in and plays the game. I think the real reason he ends up pissed off with me because he wants to spend more time with Karin-chan."

"_Karin-chan?_"

"Kurosaki's sister. Speaking of which..." Yukio took a deep breath. "It's funny that you accused me of stalking Toshiro when he's stalked her in the past. She told me as much." The voice on the other side went silent. "Hello? Are you still there?"

"_I was under the impression that you didn't like social contact. Did you not care that your parents died? It is in his report._"

The young Fullbringer frowned. "My parents..." Yukio slammed his hands down and nearly knocked his ramen over onto his keyboard. "I _don't_ like talking about my parents. They're the ones who avoided having social contact with me because I was messed up. The preferred..." The blond haired boy sat back and took a deep breath. "Look... Toshiro's the only person whose ever gotten me. He's really only tested a few of my older games as he's only ever here a short time."

"_Sounds like you actually are stalking him._"

"I told you, I'm not. Toshiro, Karin and myself all exchanged phone numbers. I'm not the only one whose been worried about him. She's also a good beta, but not when she's pissed off. She's not fun to talk to either when she's pissed and she's not as smart as Toshiro. Except he has even less clues when it comes to social situations then I do. All I want to do is see him and know he's..." Yukio paused and closed his eyes as he let out a deep breath. "I know he's not all right."

"_How do you know?_"

"I know he's not doing well because he said he couldn't leave his room, but that he wasn't under house arrest. Actually... it was a combination of him and that stupid Kurosaki Ichigo. I know what it is like to be a _hikikomori_ and he is acting like one."

"_I am actually unfamiliar with the term hikikomori. I take it that you wish to come and visit him._"

"I can just as easily do my work from Soul Society as I can the living world. He's the only friend I have."

"_What about Karin-chan?_"

"Karin-chan? You might as well say that she is Toshiro's girlfriend. She's like the annoying sister-in-law in the relationship. I guess you could call it that. Except she's good at keeping both of us in line and not killing each other. We don't always get along. Actually... most of the time we don't. I think he is scared of the idea that she will bash his skull in. Actually... sometimes I think he wants her to bash his skull in. He may be a secret masochist."

"_Should I be disturbed with what you've just said?_"

"I think so. I mean, the fact he stalked her and is a secret masochist is something to be concerned with. So... when can I get to see him?"

"_We have to honestly think about this carefully._"

**M**

Ukitake looked up from his tea with a surprised look on his face. "One of the Fullbringer's wants to see Shiro-chan?"

"Yes. I'm am honestly a bit bothered by the bizarre nature of the conversation we've had. If this child wanted to be, he could be quite dangerous. Ichigo seems to know this child so I've asked him for him to come see us to give his opinion."

"You're having him leave Shiro-chan's side? Our young taicho has been having serious problems."

"It seems Toshiro is fine being left on his own when he's not having to sleep. And his division quarters aren't on fire."

"When did his division quarters catch on fire?" Ukitake felt his facial features twist up with worry as well as his face pale.

"They haven't. He's in such a mental state I think he would have to be dragged kicking and screaming from a burning building."

The sound of a persons feet on the ground caused the two taicho to turn their heads. Ichigo frowned at the two taicho. "You wished to talk to me?"

"About a certain Fullbringer..." Kyoraku smiled at the orange haired teen causing Ichigo to flinch.

"Yukio? How did you find out that Toshiro was in contact with him? I didn't say anything. Toshiro didn't want anyone to know he was communicating with Yukio."

"So they are friends?" Ukitake's mouth twisted into a frown.

"As well as Toshiro can be friends with someone."

Kyoraku leaned forward into his hands. "Here's the thing. We are a bit worried about letting this Yukio-kun near a certain someone. He doesn't seem to be mentally stable."

"Exactly what did Yukio say to you to make you think that?" Ichigo sat down near Kyoraku.

"Yukio accused a certain young taicho of stalking your sister as well as being a secret masochist who wants your sister to beat him up."

"Yukio tried telling me that Toshiro was hitting on my sister and Toshiro didn't think Yukio meant flirting with her. I honestly don't know whether Yukio is a problem or not as I don't know how much of his real personality I got to see when he was under the effect of that particular Fullbring. For all I know his ego problems came out because we were fighting. He also may use his ego problems as a defense mechanism and to avoid getting close to people. Which is like Toshiro."

"The question though is should we trust Yukio enough to bring him here."

Ichigo frowned. "Toshiro doesn't want Yukio to know that he's locked up in his room."

"Child geniuses..." Kyoraku pulled the hat down over his eyes. "This Yukio's already figured that out."

Ukitake frowned. "IT was important for Shiro-chan that Yukio not know?"

"He practically panicked."

Ukitake and Kyoraku looked at each other. The head taicho let out a sigh. "I think you know what we need to do."


	14. The Friendship Game

**Finding Friendship  
><strong>_**The Friendship Game**_

Hanataro made his rounds in the forth division. The young Shinigami's mouth twisted up in frustration as he wandered from patient to patient. There were some complaints from a few of the patients that some of the Quincy were getting off with little to no punishment. When they asked Hanataro how he felt about the situation he gave a very honest answer. He didn't care so long as his patients were all right.

This caused a few odd looks which caused him to explain that the person leading the Quincy was gone and dead. That meant in Hanataro's young mind that the danger was in fact gone and they didn't have to worry about enemies any more. The tension he felt in the forth division didn't though go away even when they began to transfer things to the forth building that had been restored. He also moved around doing various chores without being asked.

Isane called him to the office and he came without question. His eyes darted around taking in the things that belonged to their former taicho but brushed it to the back of his mind as Unohana wouldn't want him to be upset with her death and instead focus on becoming as strong of a Shinigami as he could be. Kyoraku Taicho sat in the chair on the opposite side of the desk from where Unohana sat.

Hantaro blinked a couple of times when he saw a young man around the same height as he was. The boy had blond hair and green eyes. The young man was dressed in dark clothing that looked quite old fashioned and like what the old fukutaicho of the first division would have been interested in. The young boy had a hand held game console in his hands that he fiddled with.

The young Shinigami blinked a couple of times. "Um... hello."

"Yamada Hanataro... this is Hans Vorarlberna Yukio. He has come to visit Hitsugaya Taicho. You're to take him to the tenth division." Kyoraku smiled at the young Shinigami.

Hanataro blinked a couple of times as he looked at the boy. He then tilted his head slightly. "I don't know you."

A silence fell over the room as the two young men looked at each other. Yukio finally spoke up. "Is that a problem."

"No. I'm just trying to figure out how you happen to know Hitsugaya Taicho. His social circle among those are age is smaller then my own."

Kyoraku's eyebrows rose up. "This young man is one of the Fullbringers. To be exact... this is the Fulbringer who happened to be matched with Hitsugaya Taicho."

Hanataro reached out his hand. "Nice to meet you then."

Yukio simply stood there before reaching his hand out. "I'm not sure why you are so excited? I'm not sure why you're excited about all of this either."

"I don't know either."

"You're funny."

"I've had people tell me that before actually." Hanataro finally let go of the young man's hand and began to head off to the tenth division while the young man followed close behind him. Yukio's eyes darted around looking at the damage around the place as his mouth twisted up into a frown.

"Things were really bad here."

"We had a fight with the Quincy." Hanataro stopped short when he heard Yukio's feet suddenly slide to a stop. He turned his head towards the young man following him. "Is something the matter?"

"No. I'd rather avoid the Quincy if possible. The Shinigami weren't per say the only people who troubled us. I'd rather not talk about it." Yukio didn't continue to move and a silence fell over the ruins for a few minutes. "This Kyoraku Taicho mentioned that the Shinigami were starting a Shinigami Kids Society and if I would in fact participate. The Quincy wouldn't be participating would they? He just said he would like me to convince Toshiro to join."

"Oh..." The corners of the young Shinigami's mouth twisted down. "Actually... they are going to be participating. At least... they're supposed to. They may very well refuse to come."

"If they participate them I'm very unlikely to participate. I would rather deal with the Shinigami then I would the Quincy. Let's continue to the tenth division. I really don't want to run into any Quincy here."

Hanataro started forward and finally knocked on the door to Toshiro's room. The door slid open and Ichigo peeked out. "Oh! Hanataro! Yukio! Come in."

From inside the room came a string of cursing from the young taicho before the sound of someone landing hard on the ground. Both the young Shinigami and the young Fullbringer stepped into the room to see the other young Shinigami. Yukio looked at Ichigo from the corner of his eye. "I'm surprised you're not upset at seeing me again... everything considered."

"Why? I never stopped thinking of you guys as friends."

"You're weird." Yukio's eyes moved to look at the young taicho who was pulling himself up from the other side of the bed. A frown spread across Toshiro's face. "Hello."

"What are you doing here!" The child taicho pushed up onto the bed and glared at Yukio.

Hanataro blinked a couple of times. "I came because the head taicho asked me to bring him here to see you."

"And that is why I'm here." Yukio continued to fiddle with his game system as he plopped down onto the bed. The young Fullbringer pulled out an adapter for his hand held system and used it to plug it into the electrical plug near the night stand. The blond haired youth pushed his finger around on the screen. "That needs to go here."

A television appeared on the far wall on top of a bookshelf while Toshiro let out a gagging sound. Ichigo blinked a couple of times. "Hold it! If that isn't secured into the wall there will be problems!"

Yukio turned to look at the orange haired teen. "It isn't as if I didn't think of that."

The Fullbringer pushed a few more buttons causing some items to nearly fall in front of Ichigo. The orange haired teen felt the corner of his mouth twitch. "Wait... you want me to put that up?"

"Well... duh. You're bigger then us."

Ichigo sighed and scratched the back of his head. He looked at Toshiro to see that the young taicho was starting to panic. "Toshiro..."

"Don't you dare! Don't you dare add anything to this room! It's still the same way it was when he left!"

The teen let a deep sigh of frustration. "Toshiro..."

"Don't you dare Kurosaki!"

Ichigo pulled out his phone and stepped out of the room for a few minutes. He came back and handed the phone to the small taicho. Toshiro's bright teals eyes widened suddenly as the others watched him. "Taicho..." The boy swallowed. "All right. I don't like..." The young taicho let out a deep sigh. "All right. I'll play nice." The phone clicked shut and was handed back to the orange haired teen. "You're mean."

Ichigo slid the phone back into his robes before heading over to the wall. Hanataro looked out of the room. "I guess I should be leaving now."

"Why?" Yukio looked up at the young Shinigami from the forth division. "Aren't you friend with Toshiro to."

"Well..." Hanataro looked at the small taicho. "I don't know about Hitsugaya Taicho, but... I know I think of him as my friend."

The white haired youth let out a sigh of relief only to clasp hands over his ears as Ichigo went to work on putting up the television. The door between Toshiro's quarters and Rangiku's suddenly slammed open. "What the hell is going on?" The busty female blinked a couple of times when she saw Ichigo working on the television while the two young Shinigami looked as if they had their hands caught in the cookie jar. Yukio simply continued to fiddle with his game. She took a deep breath. "Taicho... you have company?"

"Is their something wrong with that?" Toshiro's eyes widened instead of narrowing with irritation like they usually did.

"No! I'll go and make you three..." The woman paused and looked at Ichigo. "Make that four. I'll make you four some treats. I'm needing to take a break from the paperwork anyways."

Toshiro blinked a couple of times. "Paperwork? Shouldn't I..."

"No. You take a break. You're not wanting to go from office to get the paperwork anyways."

"It's my job."

"Taicho..." The woman placed her hands on her hips until the boy looked away sheepishly. She then hurried off.

Yukio looked up from his game. "Isn't everything computerized?" He watched as the two young Shinigami looked at him in confusion. "What? You don't know that it is possible to set up paperwork so you can do it via computer, right? You would just have to have people send you the file work."

"What is... a computer?" Toshiro frowned as he stood up from the bed and walked to a corner to watch Yukio carefully.

Hanataro's eyes widened. "Computer... that's that big thing in the twelfth division."

"Oh... the thing that he says he'll kill me if I even get finger prints on." Toshiro frowned as he crossed his arms. "If computers are so big then it doesn't seem like doing paperwork that way will be helpful."

Yukio sighed before typing something into his hand held device. "For someone from an elite family that would know about this kind of thing you sure don't know much."

The young Shinigami from the forth frowned. "Hitsugaya Taicho isn't from a one of the noble clans. I am."

The young Fullbringer's mouth opened in surprise. "I don't understand."

"My past is really none of your business Vorarlberna. Unlike you I don't like sharing my past."

The corner of Yukio's mouth twisted up more. "Someone who has loving parents still shouldn't talk."

"I'm going..." Toshiro paused part way towards moving towards the door. His face suddenly paled and he backed up a couple of feet before collapsing to the ground.

The blond haired youth set his game down and walked over to where Toshiro was and knelt down. "You really can't leave your room. That has to be boring, what with only books in here."

"Go away..." The young taicho looked at the ground as his words snapped out.

"Don't worry. I've brought plenty of stuff so you won't be bored. Not all of the stuff happens to be the games I created." Yukio looked up at the screen Ichigo finished installing. "I've made a new zombie game." He watched as the other three froze. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

Hanataro took a deep breath. "Hitsugaya Taicho's just recovered from being turned into a zombie." As the blond haired youth's mouth formed a circle the young Shinigami from the forth continued. "Also... Hitsugaya Taicho died and came to Soul Society. He doesn't know who his parents are."

Yukio blinked a couple of times before reaching out to rub a head of white hair while two bright teal eyes glared at him. "So you weren't trying to goad me when you said that. Poor you."

"Shut up."

"Why? I now know why I like you so much."

"You've got a very funny way of showing that you like me."

The Fullbringer held up his hands and finally smiled. "I promise. I'm not going to send you into a video game. Not unless you want to go in. This said... I'm going to do everything I can to find a video game that you want to go into even if it isn't one that I've created. Then... I'm going to create similar games if possible." Toshiro glared at Yukio as the blond headed over the television to set up the game system and video game. "Anyways... you can take out your frustrations at being turned into a zombie by taking your frustrations out on actual zombies."

Toshiro's eyes suddenly widened in excitement. "You promise not to send me into the game?"

"I promise. I promise not to send the other two in either... or anyone else." Yukio went back to frowning and spoke so Toshiro couldn't hear him. "The sooner we can get you back to your normal self the better. You're more fun to play with that way."


	15. Zombied Fears

**Finding Friendship  
><strong>_**Zombied Fears**_

The fukutaicho of the tenth division was surprised to see that her young taicho had company other then Ichigo. She was also surprised to see that changes were finally being made to the room after so many years of Toshiro not changing the room. A smile spread across her face as she headed to the division kitchens to prepare food for Ichigo and the four young teens. "_I never thought I would see the day he would make strong enough friendships in order to have a play date._"

"_Play date? Friendships? Are you sure that was what was going on? Our little Shiro-chan didn't look quite comfortable with the situation._"

"_That's just because he thought he was in trouble with me. To be honest, I thought he was doing something strange in his room because he was upset. I've been so worried about him. I mean... when I saw him in the forth division he was... misbehaving._" Rangiku frowned as she looked at the counter. "_Wait... this means he's growing up?_"

"_Well... I guess you could see it that way. In your mind he crawled into a bed and slept with a girl and he's hanging out with guys like all guys do. Just your luck __that he's becoming a man._"

"_A man? That's not becoming a man."_

"_Fine. I mean he's acting how bratty kids his age should act._"

"_Nuh... uh. Not my little taicho." _Rangiku took a deep breath before continuing to prepare the snacks. She then carried the trey over to the captain's quarters and opened the door only to have her face fall. Hanataro sat on the bed with a horrified look on his face as he watched the game Toshiro was playing on the screen with the young boy. Ichigo was busy reading a book.

The busty taicho walked over to the bed with her eyes wide and placed the trey down on the bed. The corner of her mouth twisted up in a horrified scowl. She placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes. "What are you doing?"

She watched as her small taicho continued to push the buttons on the controller while the other boy turned his head. "We're playing a zombie game."

"Absolutely not!" Rangiku swallowed as she watched her small taicho not respond. The other boy narrowed her eyes. "And you!" She turned her head to Ichigo. "You let them play this game?"

Ichigo looked up from the book. "Yukio said it would be good therapy." He peered over the edge of the book with a smile only to have it suddenly fade away into a frown. "Of course... I didn't realize it was this damn violent."

"Taicho... please turn off this game."

"It is therapeutically." Yukio commented while looking at the woman. Toshiro continued to push the buttons on the game.

Rangiku let out a sigh and stepped in between the television and her small taicho. She watched as his normally bright eyes blinked a couple of times. "No violent games. They're going to give you even worse nightmares then you've been having and I won't have that."

"We've played zombies game before. He's actually been _in_ a zombie game before._"_

The woman folded her arms across her chest. Ichigo stood up and walked over to take the controller from Toshiro who blinked a couple of times. Hanataro frowned. "I agree with Matsumoto Fukutaicho and Ichigo... this isn't really therapeutic."

Yukio let out a deep sigh before standing up. "Fine... I'll find something that isn't violent."

The young taicho blinked a couple of times before looking at Rangiku. "I'm fine Matsumoto."

"No you're not. You're spacing out and really not there. Please..." The woman continued to frown.

Toshiro blinked a couple of times before turning back to the television. The young taicho didn't respond to her comment. Ichigo tugged the boy up to the bed while Yukio scowled. Hanataro let out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad. I really didn't like that game."

"You could have said something." Yukio continued to fiddle with his hand held game system. "This also said... Toshiro really wasn't like this the previous time we played zombie games."

Rangiku felt a sudden tugging at her chest as she tried to restrain herself from yelling at the boy. "If I had known you were introducing him to such games... actually... perhaps I should have asked how you ended up meeting in the first place. I don't know you."

The blond haired boy blinked a couple of times. "You're right. You should have asked me before. You didn't though because you aren't his mother. I'm Hans Vorarlberna Yukio by the way."

The woman felt her jaw drop. "Excuse me?"

"You're not his mother."

"Are you purposefully trying to antagonize me?"

"No. I think it is funny that you're reacting to what I said though."

Toshiro blinked a couple of times. "Rangiku. He's right. You're not my mother. I told you I was fine."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "Toshiro... you're not all right. You were zoning out so much you didn't notice when Rangiku was talking to you. I don't call that all right."

Rangiku watched as the boy blinked a couple of times. "Taicho... I think you're actually doing worse then before."

"I don't know why. I enjoyed killing my zombie self."

The woman drew a deep breath while Hanataro and Ichigo looked at him in horror. Yukio stopped fiddling with his game. Rangiku glared at him in anger. The boy let out a sigh. "Don't look at me. I didn't think my idea would work out in this manner."

Toshiro blinked a couple of times. "Wait... did I say something wrong?"

Ichigo's face was pale as he sat down onto the bed between Hanataro and Toshiro. The young Shinigami from the forth division was the one who decided to speak up. "Hitsugaya Taicho... you just said you want to kill yourself."

"No I didn't." Toshiro's normally bright eyes still remained dull. "I was killing a part of myself I didn't like while still surviving within the game. Is there anything wrong with that."

Rangiku felt her entire body tense up at this statement from the young Taicho. "All right! All future material Yukio-kun brings to this room or to the Shinigami Kids Society is going to be screened by myself."

Toshiro blinked a couple of times and the dazed look left his face as his voice became louder. "_What_ Shinigami Kids Society! What the hell are you talking about."

Yukio turned his head to look at the white haired boy. "So they haven't told you about that yet?"

The young taicho ground his teeth together. "Why didn't you and Kurosaki tell me?"

"We... I was thinking of a way to tell you."

"You were already mad at me when I told you about that."

Rangiku blinked a couple of times at what the orange haired teen. "What did you tell him earlier?"

"I'm not going to participate." Toshiro pushed himself up from the bed in anger.

The woman folded her arms around her chest. "And why not?"

"I'm not a little kid!"

"Taicho..." The woman swallowed as she looked at the young taicho.

"Don't taicho me! This is just! It's horribly stupid Rangiku."

"What's stupid is the fact you're not acting like yourself." The fukutaicho of the tenth division watched as Toshiro's face fell. "Taicho... I'm sorry. That wasn't directed at you."

"It sure sounded like it."

Yukio looked at Rangiku without blinking. "I think this Shinigami Kids Society is stupid as well. Despite the fact that head captain invited me I'm not going to participate. I'm not going to deal with the Quincy."

"The Quincy are participating?" The color quickly left Toshiro's face.

Hanataro's mouth twisted up into a frown. "Are you all right Hitsugaya Taicho?"

"No. I mean..." The white haired youth shook his head. "I am fine. If he thinks it is stupid then I'm not participating either."

"Taicho!"

"No!"

Rangiku sighed before turning her head to look at Ichigo. Her hand snapped out to grab the orange haired teens ear. "I want to talk to you now!" The woman watched as both her small taicho and Hanataro looked at her in horror while Yukio continued to fiddle with his game. "You two aren't in trouble! It's Ichigo who is."

The fukutaicho of the tenth tugged the young man out of the room and slammed the door. She let go of his ear and watched him rub the side of his house. "Come on Rangiku-san. I had nothing to do with why Toshiro doesn't want to participate in the Shinigami Kids Society. I think he should have a choice in the matter. He'll feel better about it in the long run. That is unless you are able to figure out a way to get him involved where he feels there isn't much choice."

The woman folded her arms across her ample bust. "I'm not upset about that. I'm upset about the fact you allowed him to play that game."

Ichigo's eyes widened. "Honestly... I didn't know it would be that bloody violent. Emphasis here on the bloody part."

"I don't believe that!" Rangiku snapped at the young man. "Seriously. I trust you Ichigo not to do something like this. It's something... to be honest it is some kind of mistake I expect of my former taicho."

Two brown eyes narrowed in anger as the corners of Ichigo's mouth turned down. "You know... that is a major insult."

"Insult?" Her own eyes reflected that she too was angry. "Yeah. I guess that was meant as an insult! I mean come on! How can you not have known! Don't these games have ratings and things that tell you what the content of the game happens to be?"

"Not if the game has yet to be released on the market." Ichigo folded his arms on his chest as Rangiku's arms fell to her side and a confused look appeared on her face.

"Wait? That Yukio child hacked a game company and stole a game?"

The orange haired teens eyes widened. "Wait... you know about bootleg games?"

"I try staying in touch with what kids my taicho's age are into even though he isn't into any of it. I don't want that child around my taicho if he is stealing games."

"Yukio didn't steal the game." Ichigo took a deep breath. "Yukio is a game programmer."

"Wait... he's a child genius like my taicho?" Rangiku felt her jaw drop. "You mean _that_ is the reason he said those weird things and acts the way he does?"

"I think there is more to it then that." Ichigo reached up and scratched the top of his head. "I didn't think Yukio would make that violent of a game. Plus... Toshiro said he played that particular one before."

The woman found herself paling. "Exactly how did my small taicho meet up with this child? Actually... where is this child's supervision. This is how..." The fukutaicho swallowed as she thought of something that bothered her. "... my taicho would be if he went unsupervised for some period of time."

"Yeah... about that. Yukio was... is... one of the Fullbringers. He's the one that Toshiro fought."

"And they're now friends?"

"Yeah. As friendships go with either one of them." The teen let out a sigh. "You're really worried about Toshiro."

Rangiku looked at the ground as she crossed her arms across her chest. "His behavior of late hasn't been his normal behavior. There was a particular incident in the forth division's base camp that was really upsetting. I'd tell you... but it's not something I want you worrying about." A smile appeared on her face. "Truth be told I would rather you continue worrying about being his big brother figure then acting as the legal parental guardian. Leave that mess to me."


	16. Fiery She Weeps

**Finding Friendship  
><strong>_**Fiery She Weeps**_

"_I hate Shinigami._" This particular thought wouldn't leave the young Quincy's mind as she sat in the corner of the room glaring at the wall. She sat with her legs crossed in a manner that wasn't decent for the short skirt she was wearing. "_I hate the fact they are pretending to be nice to us._"

Bambietta honestly couldn't remember what occurred between when she had her head slammed into the rubble and when she woke up in the care of the forth division Shinigami. When she woke up she hadn't realized that someone had taken the time to replace her old clothing let alone find a spare uniform of hers. She had been angry at the time and now she tried brushing off what she deemed an invasion of her privacy. "_It really wasn't an invasion of privacy._"

"_Shut up stupid voice in my head._"

"_I am not just some voice in your head._"

Bambietta choose to ignore the voice and turned her head to look at the other girls who seemed quite happy with their circumstances. "_I wish I had my old room back. I don't like sharing with them._"

"_You could possibly ask... though the other girls would take it the wrong way. Oh! And Candace would think that you're trying to be this Kuchiki noble's bride._"

"_I didn't survive to be the bride of some damn Shinigami._" Two violet eyes narrowed at Liltotto who munched away at her snacks. The girl named Rukia had brought in a bunch of Japanese sweets. Bambietta's eyes had lit up for a brief period of time particularly upon seeing the amanatto. She had turned her head quickly as the fear that they were trying to butter her up wouldn't go away.

Rukia had even offered Chappy related items for all of the girls if they so wanted. Bambietta again ignored this offer. "_Meninas would just take all of the cute items for herself unless I had my own room. Then there is the fact Candace is __going to haul in those stupid girly magazines into this room as well as her boyfriends. Liltotto is going to make a mess with her sweets. There is a reason I have my own room._"

"_Yeah... so you can be the only one making the mess. It's not as if you're much cleaner._"

"_Seriously stupid voice. Shut up and stop talking in the back of my head. You simply don't exist and are a figment of my mind created to compensate for my weaknesses._"

"_I told you before that I am not simply a voice in the back of your head. I'm not some figment of your imagination nor am I a weakness. I am actually a strength that you've ignored all these years."_

"Shut up."

"Excuse me?"

Liltotto's voice caused Bambietta to turn her head to look at the young Quincy. "I'm not talking to you Lil."

"Yeah... I know _exactly _who you're talking to."

Bambietta felt her body bristle at this statement and she stood up and glared at the other girl. "Now I'm telling you to shut up!"

Candace frowned at the two girls. "Would you two both just shut up. I really don't care about the problems you two have with each other or at all."

The voice in Bambietta's head spoke again. "_You know... your twin brother could likely explain who I am to you._"

"Just shut up!" The violet haired female stormed out the room in anger. Her body headed past the few Shinigami who guarded the property while they blinked. She then heard them yelling at her to come back. The young Quincy stopped when she realized she was where her old room would be located. Her mouth twisted up into a frown as she looked at the building that was half way between the Shinigami building and the Quincy building.

She slipped into the room and found many of her things strewn on the floor. Things were the same for the rooms that belonged to the other girls.

"Excuse me." A voice from behind her caused her to spin around and take a defensive manner. The rather tall taicho frowned at her. "Why aren't you back at the estate?"

"Who are you?" Bambietta's voice strained as she spoke to the man.

"I am Kuchiki Byakuya, captain of the sixth division." The man continued to look at her in a manner that made her uncomfortable. "I thought that these rooms belonged to you young ladies. I can have some of my female division members come in and find what they can salvage."

"I don't care!" Bambietta found herself hurrying off again. She again didn't know where she was going. She simply knew she was heading in the one direction that felt comfortable. She stopped on top of a wall and blinked a couple of times. "_Why am I here?_" A few Shinigami moved around below without noticing her. The young Quincy still crouched down to try and not be seen while the corners of her mouth twisted down in confusion. "_Seriously? Why am I here? The only places I can think of me being comfortable are with the girls and my rooms._"

She watched as a door opened and two people with strawberry colored hair stepped out. The woman was tugging on the male figures ear. Bambietta felt her entire body tense up. "_I don't like that woman!_"

"_Why? Because she slapped you across the face after pulling your brother away from you?_"

"_What other reason would I not like her other then the fact she happens to be a Shinigami?_"

"_I don't know. How about the fact that woman is close to your brother? Or how about something you haven't realized yet yourself dear Bambi-chan? By the way... I believe that is your brother's room._"

The young female swallowed as she looked at the room, realizing that she had felt her brother's spiritual pressure. She went down to her knees and watched as the orange haired teen went back into the room while the woman went into a room nearby. "_This isn't fair. Why did the Shinigami have to take him away?_"

Bambietta sensed someone following her and decided it was best to head back to the room she shared with the girls. She wasn't there when the man with a straw hat and pink kimono landed near where she once was.

The head taicho invited Ukitake over to his office to speak and have a noonday drink. A smile spread across his face as the man came in. The white haired taicho of the thirteenth division came in with a frown on his face caused by worrying about a certain small taicho. The man couldn't prevent the corners of his mouth as he looked at his old friend. "I take it you have some good news."

"It is kind of good news. More along the lines of amusing." Kyoraku pulled out a couple of sake glasses and poured his friend a glass. "That young Quincy that Urahara identified as young Hitsugaya's sibling..."

"What about her?"

"She took off on Byakuya-kun this morning."

Ukitake let out a deep sigh. "How is that amusing... other then the fact it is likely driving that young man nuts. Where is she now?"

"She is back with the other girls." Kyoraku took a sip from his glass. "The first place she went to was that place we figured was once quarters for some of the Quincy. It's a mess as it's half there and half our building. Byakuya-kun followed her there but favored having some of his female Shinigami gather up the girls items." The head taicho let out a laugh. "That's not what is amusing though."

"What is then?"

"I started following her when I received the message. She ended up outside of young Hitsugaya's quarters watching."

"She isn't going to be stalking him is she?"

"I'm not sure if we can call this stalking. She didn't see happy to see Ichigo or Rangiku though. I think something is bothering her. I've decided to ask Nanao-chan to keep an eye on her. Truth be told this young lady taking off like she has means I have a reason for having Nanao-chan to follow her sometimes without telling her about that young ladies relationship with our young taicho."

Ukitake took a deep breath. "Perhaps having his sister around will do him some good. Is the Shinigami Kids Societies first meeting still scheduled to start in the next few days on the tenth?"

"Yes. The teachers at the academy have been carefully considering each and every one of the students that could be considered a child. They're trying to pick students that have some kind of future potential, but also students that have good personalities that they hope will mesh well with the young Shinigami we already have."

The white haired taicho leaned forward into his hands. "Now we just have to convince Shiro-chan to participate. Little Yachiru-chan has told me that she is looking forward to the Shinigami Kids Society and making new friends. Should we plan an activity for them to start with?"

"No. I think the kids should plan their own activities. I'm more thinking that we should focus tomorrow at getting the club area prepared for the children. I wish Ikkaku was better off so that he could actually do the building. Until he is better I think we'll have the children in temporary class rooms."

"I'm glad." Ukitake took a deep breath. "This said... the two young Shinigami from my division that will be participating in the club... they've voiced concern about the fact there are no ranks or uniforms allowed at these meetings."

"Did you explain that this was so that the academy students and Quincy children will feel comfortable."

"I am sad to say that I think Shino-chan suspects that there is another reason for us having this rule."

"Some of the academy students think the club is some kind of conspiracy on our parts. The funny fact is if you really think about it... the rumor is true as we can't reveal the main reason for the starting up this club. If we did..."

Ukitake finished what his friend wanted to say. "What we want to achieve will in fact be ruined.

The young Fullbringer settled on introducing the two young Shinigami to semi-retro games and pulled out an old 64 system and setting it up. To his surprise the young taicho slipped over to his side and pointed his finger at the console. "Is this old?"

"The 64 gaming system came out in nineteen ninety-six."

Hanataro slipped over as well. "I thought people got new computers because the software was out of date. Rin told me that."

"I wouldn't know as I know as I know squat about this." Toshiro sat in the traditional position.

Yukio looked at the white haired youth. "How can you play games sitting like that?"

"I don't know what you mean."

The Fullbringer turned his head back to the system. "While it is true that people update their computers as time pass and people get rid of their older computers it isn't the same with gaming systems. There is something nostalgic about playing these types of games. Speaking of computers though..." The young Fullbringer messed with his hand held consul and popped out a small laptop. "You can do paperwork on this."

"I don't think it is a good idea for Hitsugaya Taicho to do paperwork."

Yukio watched as Toshiro eyed the computer and ignored Hanataro. "Is that anything like doing paperwork via Soul Phone?"

"Yes, but better." The young Fullbringer looked at the television before handing the game controler to Hanataro. "Why don't you play Mario?"

"Me? Play a video game?"

"Why not. I want to show Toshiro how this works." Yukio sat down on the bed ignoring the snacks Rangiku had brought for them. The blond began to show Toshiro how to use the computer. Ichigo came in and sat down nearby with a frown on his face. Yukio noticed the look. "Something the matter?"

"I'm not liking how Toshiro is zoning out with these games and that computer."

"Toshiro is better then I am at not getting to involved. You don't need to worry about him."

"Yes... but that was before this incident with the Quincy. He's not himself."

"Maybe he'll get better if he has a chance to zone out and do something he likes."

Hanataro sighed as Mario died. "I'm not sure either. While there is some merit to what you say, it can also backfire. The last thing we need is him getting addicted."

"I guess you two can intervene if that happens."

"Why can't you?" The young Shinigami from the forth turned his head just in time for Mario to die again.

"Because... I'm not the best person to intervene."

Ichigo let out a sigh before reaching back to rub the back of his head in frustration. "So... where exactly are you going to stay?"

"Stay? Why not here?"

"It is kind of crowded."

The young Shinigami blinked a couple of times as Mario died and a face showed up on the screen. "Yukio-kun could stay with me for now. I've plenty of room at my place because I don't own much things." The boy turned his head to look at the blond. "How do I turn this off? As much as I'd love to continue playing this I really have chores to do at the forth. I'll come back later tonight to show you how to get to my place."

"All right." The disappointment Yukio felt didn't come across in his voice.


	17. Dazed Phase

**Finding Friendship  
><strong>_**Dazed Place**_

A soft rain began to pour down outside of the room once Yukio left with Hanataro. Ichigo watched Toshiro carefully as the young taicho interacted with the other two who were around his age. "_He really didn't interact with them did he?_"

The young taicho remained glued to the screen of the computer as he worked on paperwork At least that was what he said he was doing whenever Ichigo had asked what he was doing. There was also no frustrated complaint about Ichigo asking over and over either, and that was something Ichigo was sure Toshiro would have done. The only time he left Yukio and Toshiro alone was when Ichigo went to the Kitchen's to ask for lunch for the three of them.

The person who acknowledged his reappearance was to his surprise Yukio and not Toshiro. He also watched as the young Fullbringer took a break from his game long enough to take his own lunch over to the gaming system. Ichigo walked over to the small taicho. "Toshiro?"

He found himself pulling the young taicho's cheek when he received no response from the young taicho. Toshiro blinked a couple of times before turning to look at him. "What?"

"Lunch time." Ichigo watched as two eyes blinked at him before the white haired child reached for the food. He then had to watch as Toshiro picked at the food while he continued what ever he was doing on the computer. Towards evening Hanataro came to pick up Yukio and he listened to the young Shinigami from the forth speak about his dinner plans. This caused Ichigo to look at Toshiro and shake his head as there were still things for the young taicho to eat in the room. "_Rangiku is not going to be happy with this._"

His suspicions were confirmed when Rangiku opened the door. Her eyes darted to the young taicho and her mouth twisted up into a frown. "Ichigo... how long has he been like this?"

The orange haired teen turned his head from where he was lying on the bed. "He's unfortunately been like this all day."

"Why did you let him zone out like this?" Rangiku's voice strained.

"I honestly didn't know what else to do."

"All right." The busty female was obviously trying to prevent her emotions from pouring out. She took a deep breath after about ten seconds. "Where did Yukio and Hanataro go?"

"Hanataro took Yukio to stay with him at the forth. Actually... he left earlier to go and do his work at the forth division and came back to pick up Yukio."

"That was sweet of him." Rangiku found herself swallowing. "Taicho... sweetheart... what would you like for dinner." The woman's voice rose when she received no response from the taicho. "Taicho!"

Ichigo let out a sigh and tugged on Toshiro's sleeve. When the boy didn't respond he sat up and removed the laptop from the boy's lap. "Toshiro... Rangiku-san is trying to speak to you."

The orange teen watched as the young taicho's facial features shifted. The first expression was like that of a child who had their candy stolen away by someone. Two eyes then blinked a couple of times and Toshiro's jaw dropped when Ichigo said that Rangiku wanted to speak to him. He turned his head to look at the woman, cocking it slightly back as he looked at her. "What is it Matsumoto?"

Rangiku took a deep breath. "I don't think I like how involved you were when it comes to that electronic device. It worries me."

"Is this any different from I do paperwork in the office?"

"Different?" The busty female crossed her arms across her chest and her eyes and mouth contorted from exasperation. "It's one thing when you zone out doing paperwork and the rest of your duties, it is completely another when you zone out playing these games. I mean... I don't have problems with you having fun and relaxing. It feels like you're going into your own little world."

"I'm doing paperwork."

"What?"

"Vorarlberna told me I could use the computer to do paperwork. It is quite convenient."

"Wait... did you just do every single piece of paperwork I did today by hand on the computer!" Rangiku's voice rose up.

"You never do paperwork."

Ichigo took a deep breath as he felt Rangiku's reiatsu fluctuate. "Excuse me? That is your response to me when I worked my but off so that you could have a decent break from work? You tell me that my work was for nothing?"

"I didn't mean it that way." The corners of Toshiro's mouth turned down. "Plus... I'm doing my job. I didn't even have to leave the room to do it."

Two brown eyes widened as a sickening thought crossed Ichigo's mind. "_I think he just realized that he doesn't have to really leave his quarters if he doesn't want to. I mean... except for training he can do anything from here._"

The zampaktuo spirit he always knew as Zangetsu spoke his thoughts on the matter. "_What's really bad is that some training can indeed be done in the room._"

"_Such as?_" Ichigo watched as the color in Rangiku's face left and she remained in silence. "_She likely is thinking the same thing as us._

"_He can communicate with his zampaktuo spirit. He can do his physical training except for zampaktuo powers in his room by keeping the room clear._"

The second spirit known as Zangetsu choose to add in to the conversation. "_I don't think he really wants to work on his zampaktuo powers._"

"_You mean to say that __Toshiro is throwing out his Zampaktuo spirits?_"

"_No..._" The worry in old man Zangetsu's voice was explained by his next comment. "_That child has a close bond with his Zampaktuo. He simply has no interest in fighting right now. Can you really blame him?_"

"_No... I can't._"

"Taicho... you're supposed to be resting." The woman watched as Toshiro's eyes widened. "What? Don't you understand what I am saying is true?"

"I'm just getting back into the routine of things."

Rangiku opened her mouth to protest the logic the young taicho used. She shook her head at his comment. "I actually don't have an argument for that." She watched as Toshiro turned back to the computer as his small hands reached out to take it back from the orange haired teen. "I will counter your logic once I do figure out an argument that will work." She watched as the boy turned his head to look at her. "What?" The woman let out a sigh while she brushed a lock of her hair away from her face. "What do you want for dinner?"

The small taicho pushed his lips together as he thought carefully about what he wanted. He turned back to look at her. "What ever Matsumoto cooks. I like Matsumoto's cooking."

Rangiku opened her mouth in frustration. "Taicho... you aren't trying to butter me up are you?"

"Why would I be trying to butter you up? I've always liked your cooking. I thought you knew that."

"You would think that." The woman shook her head before leaving and closing the door behind her.

Ichigo found himself moving to sit behind the small taicho so he could better watch what the boy was doing. He could see that Toshiro's entire body was tense. As he sat behind the young taicho he watched the child's body relax and finally lean back into Ichigo as Toshiro continued to work away at the paperwork. Rangiku eventually came back with their dinner. She set it on the nightstand next to the bed.

The orange haired teen reached up and shook the boy's shoulder. "Toshiro... you need to eat."

The young taicho's mouth twisted up into a frown. "I'm not hungry."

"Toshiro..." Ichigo pushed the lid of the computer down while the small taicho blinked a couple of times. There came a deep sigh as Toshiro pushed away and began to eat his food. When the teen looked at Rangiku again he saw that she had a rather thankful look on her face.

The atmosphere at the Kurosaki household was tense in part because Yuzu was not happy with the fact her older brother wasn't home. This was the one reason for tension that the entire family was aware of. Karin of course felt as if something was wrong despite the fact she couldn't place her finger on what was going on. The young teen decided to go about her life as normal as she didn't expect anyone to explain things to her.

… not to mention the fact Urahara was missing from his shop leaving the two girls and Tessai to take care of the shop. Karin's mind began to formulate that something drastic had to have happened for Tessai not to have gone with Urahara and instead be left to make sure Jinta and Ururu wouldn't follow after to try to help. The adult shopkeeper of course happened to try and hide the fact only to make that strange face of his when he was trying to hide things.

Going about her life went well until Yukio decided to approach her during school hours. Karin tilted her head to look at Yukio. "You again?" The girl leaned back with her eyes narrowed. "What do you want this time?"

"Have you spoken to Toshiro lately?"

"Why would you think that I've spoken to Toshiro lately?" Karin sighed and turned her head away to notice that a few of the girls in her class were looking at her.

"You're the one he comes to visit in the living world."

"You do realize that we're not supposed to talk certain things in front of others."

"Fine... when he comes to town you are the one he wants to visit. I've tried calling him on his Soul Phone, but he isn't answering me."

Karin looked at the boy as she frowned. "You're still calling him daily aren't you?"

"You don't call him daily?"

"Why would I? If Toshiro wanted to talk to me he would call me."

"So you haven't tried getting in contact with him?"

'Yukio... if you're worried about him then just come out and say it."

"I am not. I just want to play video games with him. I haven't played video games with him or you for over a week."

"_Liar. I can sense how you're feeling. It's the only reason I know you're not trying to bully Toshiro. Idiot. _" Karin took a deep breath as the blond haired teen left the room. "_Thanks for making me worry since I've not seen him for some time._"

She headed back home and waited a few more days hoping that her brother would come home and tell her that Toshiro was all right as well as Rukia. She sat at the breakfast table eating the food her sister prepared while listening to Yuzu complain about the fact Ichigo wasn't home at that point in time, Her father pouted and cried to the poster of their mother causing her to roll her eyes every so often.

Then her phone rang and Isshin picked up the food. The man blinked a couple of times. "Ichigo?"

Yuzu's eyes brightened up with happiness despite the scowl on her face. "Tell him he's to come home soon!"

Isshin's eyes darted over to look at Yuzu. "Hold on. Yuzu sweetie... I really need to..." Their father stopped speaking as the color left his face. His facial features twisted in anger. "What do you mean you told Toshiro I'm alive!"

The lighter haired twin blinked a couple of times. "You've met Karin's boyfriend already?" She turned to look at her sister. "Why did you introduce him to dad without me being there?"

Isshin's eyes widened in horror. "What do you _mean_ boyfriend?"

"We aren't dating dad. This said... I would _love_ to know how you came to know Toshiro... all _things_ considered."

The man took a deep breath and pointed frantically at the phone. "Yes. You have my permission to change the room in that manner."

Yuzu frowned. "I don't understand. Why does Toshiro-kun and Ichi-nii have to ask permission to change a room around?"

Isshin looked Karin in the eye as a frown spread across his face. He then looked at Yuzu with a smile on his face. "Toshiro values daddy's opinion!"

The lighter haired female narrowed her eyes before shaking her head. "Yeah right. No seconds for you daddy."

The girl hurried off to put away the food while Isshin's face suddenly fell. Karin glared at her father. "Seriously... how do you know Toshiro."

"I wasn't lying about the fact he values my opinion though."

"Dad... I know Toshiro. I know you. He's more likely to find you annoying then to see you as anyone to look up to."

"Oi..." Isshin's voice darkened in tone. He pointed his finger at his chest. "I know that I have a habit of acting like a lovable goofball, but..."

"Far from lovable dad."

"Karin..." The man shook his head at the girl. "I was the previous taicho of the tenth division."

"Come on. You can't see..." The female blinked a couple of times. "You're not lying to me." She stood up slamming her hands down onto the table. "Why is it you and Ichigo never tell me anything!"

Isshin looked at her only to move aside as Yuzu came back for the rest of the breakfast items before storming up. "I didn't say anything because I didn't want you and Yuzu worrying about what occurred over the last week or so."

"Are you going to tell me that every time some major battle happens."

"Karin... this isn't just some major battle. I've been waiting for it to happen for a very long time now." The man watched as her facial features twisted up in horror. He took a deep breath and sat back down. "Someday I'll explain it to you and Yuzu. Not now though."

"Is Toshiro all right?"

"He... well..." Isshin folded his hands in front of him. "He's apparently alive. Beyond that I don't know as this is the first contact I had. That Yukio kid is visiting him though."

Karin let out a deep breath of air from frustration. "Why do men have to be idiots?" She watched her father's facial features twist up. "Not you dad. Toshiro and Yukio."


	18. Half Life

**Finding Friendship  
><strong>_**Half Life**_

The rain beat down outside of the jail windows and splashed in through the bars to drip down the wall. The temperature in the room was low due to the rain coming in the window as the prisoners sat on the beds in the jail cells. The entrance to this particular set of jail cells opened and a new prisoner was brought into the room, but none of the other Quincy's looked up at the newcomer despite their appearance should have been causing a stir.

The man's boots beat down on the floor as he was taken to the jail cell at the end. On the way to the end cell they passed the blond haired Jugram. The man sat on the bench to the room with his knee pulled up as he stared at the room not speaking. The next cell they passed was the cell for NaNaNa who didn't bother to look up either. It was as if the people in the cells had their morals dashed and they didn't care about what went on outside the cells.

The jailer arrived at the end cell with the prisoner and the occupant in the last cell looked up. "I've brought the person you're going to be sharing your cell with for now."

The man in the cell raised his eyebrow and his eyes twinkled with mirth. He ran a hand through his Mohawk as his mouth twisted up into a grin. "I never suspected to see _you_ again. This is rather ironic with all things considered." The prisoner didn't respond and simply went and sat down on the second bed. A frown plastered across his face. Bazz-B folded his arms behind the back of his head. "I find it rather ironic that you declared your undying loyalty to his majesty when his majesty didn't give a damn about us."

The other person reacted suddenly and lunged at the other Quincy to clutch his throat only to be pulled back by the guard and sat down. "None of that! Seriously... I know that you Quincy have no qualms about attacking your own, but the war is over! We've got different rules. I mean... killing children. That's just disgusting."

The guard then headed to the cell door. "I'm going to place you two on tighter watch to make sure you don't kill each other."

The Quincy who was just brought in finally choose to speak once the guard was out of sight. "What does he mean children were killed. Aren't the children all right?"

"That's right. Jugram killed you so you didn't know what happened after wards. Your own half-brother. That messed up Gewelle Giselle killed Bambi-chan." Bazz-B watched as the other stood up. "Come on Cang-Du, if they brought you back they likely brought her back as well. You're not the only one pissed off that creep was allowed to get away with doing that to Bambi-chan. She was after all my pupil."

"What happened to the young one I stole the Bankai off of?"

"Him?" One of Bazz-B's eyebrow rose up. "I decided to bring him in because you lost to him and I found him interesting. Unfortunately that creep got to him to. Chances are he's been brought back as well."

Cang-Du's mouth twisted up into a snarl. "You let that happen to him! Don't you know who he is!"

"Whoa..." Bazz-B held up one hand. "What the hell is wrong with you. Chances are everyone in the cell can hear you. That child is a Shinigami, so why should we care."

The darker haired Quincy lowered his voice. "If you don't know what I'm talking about then I don't think I can trust you."

"As if you ever trusted anyone." The lighter haired Shinigami leaned back as his mouth twisted up with disgust. The two sat there in silence for a good couple of hours when something caused both to look out at the room as if someone happened to be there. Neither Quincy saw anyone there.

The smallest of the Quincy females was undeniably bored with being stuck in the room. Liltotto continued to much on her snacks but with less gusto as she no longer had her powers. She didn't wish to let the other girls know this and chalked up her disinterest in foods to her not being fond of Japanese foods compared to Western foods. As she was bored she couldn't help but notice the behavior Bambietta was exhibiting.

The girl constantly sulked in the corner in a sitting position that was very unbecoming for a young lady. Liltotto surmised that Bambietta was speaking to that voice in her head yet again as she always did when she was silent and moody. This also meant that the violet haired girl would be quite unpredictable in what she would do. The only plus side was that Bambietta wasn't really interested in killing people unless it was male underlings. She preferred controlling others through fear.

"_And she can still do that because she still has her powers so I shouldn't try messing with her. It's still to tempting._"

This was when an outburst came from the girl. "Shut up!"

"Excuse me?" Liltotto shook her head. "_She needs to control those outbursts if she doesn't want the other girls knowing she has that voice in her head._"

"I'm not talking to you Lil."

"Yeah... I know exactly who you're talking to." Liltotto watched as Bambietta lost it and finally stormed out.

Candace continued to watch the outside waiting for Bambietta to come back. Her facial features were twisted up in a manner that reflected her boredom. She finally turned her head to look at Liltotto. "Wait... what did you mean you knew who she was talking to?"

"You _really_ don't want to know. All you need to know is that she is an idiot. You saw how she stomped her feet before storming out. The only reason she didn't do one of her stomp blasts was because she was inside and would have knocked the roof down on top of her head

"Is Bambietta-chan coming back?" Meninas pouted into her pillow.

"She'll be back. She doesn't have anywhere to go any more then we do." Liltotto pushed the plate of food away from her.

"It isn't as if we had anywhere else to go before. We're just following along with who ever will give us a roof over our heads. The bonus is we got things we really liked from his majesty."

"_Yeah... that was because he was buying us just so he could steal our powers._" The small female lay her head down.

Meninas muttered from her place in the room. "Do you think Bambietta will understand that? I mean... hasn't this been her life the entire time? She likely has no idea of having a place to go or not. What if she messes this up?"

"Messes it up?" Candace's mouth twisted up into a frown. "Yeah... I guess she could mess it up if you think about all of this. I think we want to go along because we need to get along. She's used to pushing us around. If she tries doing that with the Shinigami then we're in trouble."

"Doesn't help she hates them as well. She honestly drives me nuts. You guys are lucky you haven't been around her as long as I have... and that hasn't been very long." Liltotto let out an explicative before closing her eyes. Her eyes opened again when she heard Bambietta stomping back in. She watched as the girl stormed back over to her corner and let out a sniffle and crossed her arms. "_Great. She's such a child... and I'm younger then she is._"

Hanataro opened up his room to the young Fullbringer and watched as Yukio looked around the room. "Something the matter? You don't like the room?"

"It's old fashioned and not the quality I'm used to... but that doesn't really matter. I got used to what ever quality when we kept moving buildings in Xcution. I kind of found myself preferring having a little bit of mess around me rather then complete niceties. Your place is actually rather neat compared to some of the places we happened to stay."

"I had Kotetsu Fukutaicho bring a futon for you over. I normally don't have guests around. I'm honestly to busy with my duties to normally make friends with the other Shinigami. It's been the same way with Hitsugaya Taicho."

"You haven't made friends with the other members of your division?"

"Oh... I'm friends with everybody in the forth division. They gave me an extra special energy booster for when I'm out doing my med duties."

"Where are they keeping the Quincy?" Yukio walked into the room and looked for a plug for his device before sitting down next to the outlet.

"The prison cells over at the sixth division. Sixth division is better off compared to some of the other divisions out there."

"Do all the divisions locations go around a circle like a clock?"

Hanataro blinked a couple of times. "Yes. Oddly I hadn't noticed that before. The only one not this way is the first division now that I think about it." The young Shinigami stood up. "I'm going to go and get our dinner now. I'll be right back."

"Could I have directions to the bathroom?"

"Yes... it's just down the hall. There is a community bath as well as a community toilet."

Hanataro stepped out of the room and came back with the dinner. Yukio was still out of the room and soon came back with his hair soaking wet. The young Fullbringer frowned as he sat back down with his computer. "What is the point of taking a bath if it is raining out."

"Did you find the accommodations acceptable?"

"The community bath is as clean as I expected a community bath to be. The community toilet though was much cleaner then I'd expect of a community toilet for our sex. It didn't smell."

"Thank you. It's my job to clean it."

"You do a lot of chores don't you? What about training?"

"I've never been interested in fighting. People get hurt and rather making people feel better. I can though fight if I want to." Hanataro looked at the ceiling. "I guess though since Unohana Taicho is gone I had better step up my game. I wouldn't honestly know where to start. I can't really go to the eleventh division when it comes to training as they're a lot stronger then I am."

"Perhaps what you need is a training area that is geared towards you working on building your powers. I could create a world within my game that could provide you with a training area. I did that for Ichigo once... not that I think he really appreciated it. He was in too much of a hurry to get his powers back. Not that Ginjo helped the situation."

"You could really do that?" Hanataro blinked a couple of times.

"That is my power. I can create an artificial area inside a game and now I can create one outside of the game as well thanks to Ichigo."

The young Shinigami took a deep breath. "While I appreciate this there is a major flaw to me being able to train my powers."

"And what might that that be?"

"When I strike people with my zampaktuo I end up healing them instead. Eventually the meter on it goes up and I can release one and only one major shot."

"Don't Shinigami know kido?"

"Oh... I know plenty of kido. I've only ever used healing kido."

"Tomorrow I want to see how good you are at the other kido if you don't mind."

"I guess. I do have to do my chores though."


	19. and the Bells Ring

**Finding Friendship  
>… <strong>_**and the Bells Ring**_

The headmaster of the academy called in two of the sixth years into his office and had them sit in the chair across from his desk. The man sat down with his hands folded in front of him while he looked at the two students. "The teacher's have selected the students who will be participating in the Shinigami Kids Society with the kids who are already Shinigami and the Quincy children. Yamaguichi Hirotada... Hashi Miki... I'm sure you've heard the complaints when a surprise pop quiz to students yesterday."

Hirotada took a deep breath. "Everyone was wondering why you were quizzing us over the taicho."

"All of the students selected for the Shinigami Kids Society answered the quiz as we teach the current captaincy in the school: Yamamoto, Soifon, Ichimaru, Unohana, Aizen, Kuchiki, Komamura, Kyoraku, Tosen, Shiba, Kenpachi, Kurotsuchi, Ukitake."

Miki took a deep breath. "Except I didn't answer it that way. I know I didn't because I put Hitsugaya into the spot for the tenth division taicho."

The other student frowned. "My list looked nothing like that. Mine read Yamamoto, Soifon, Otoribashi, Unohana, Hirako, Kuchiki, Komamura, Kyoraku, Kensei, Hitsugaya, Kenpachi, Kurotsuchi, Ukitake."

"The teaching staff of the academy decide that you two would be the exception to the rule as we wish for you to be the leader of the students from the academy in regards to interacting with the children who are already Shinigami as well as the Quincy. We're choosing to be upfront with you about the real reason the club is being put together as well as why a particular rule is being put into place."

The man looked first at the male student. "Yamaguichi Hirotada... you've been selected because you are the top of your class and have cared about keeping up with the current politics. You'll find that list has changed yet again." The headmaster of the school turned his head to the young female. "Hashi Miki... you're in charge of the secret club at school that revolves around a certain captain by the name of Hitsugaya Toshiro, so you know there has been a change in rank as your club follows his achievements."

"We haven't discussed the fact Hitsugaya Taicho succeeded one of the Shiba clan members as captain at the academy. The captains put this in place to protect the child captain. It was also too soon for changing up our history books. In the same regard the knowledge of Aizen's treachery hasn't been taught at the academy because the events are simply to knew to worry about."

"The club is being started up because more Shinigami around Hitsugaya Taicho's age are now graduating. The older captains are concerned about the young taicho's ability to interact with his peer group. While it is true that he is able to interact with the adults, his ability to interact with those his age is a problem. On top of this there is the fact he had a bad time of things in this last war despite being as powerful as he is."

"One of the rules for the club is no uniforms, no ranks. One of the things that the older taicho are worried about in regards to Hitsugaya Taicho is that they want the other children to accept him for who he is and not because of his rank." The headmaster narrowed his eyes. "One of you was picked because of your grades and the leadership skills you have shown, while the other was picked because of the club you head up. We expect you two to also keep this a secret... the fact the older captains are worried about the child captain... from the other children."

"Understood." Miki began to relax.

Hirotada frowned. "I've no problems with keeping this a secret from the other students picked for the Shinigami Kids Society. Is there anything you can tell us about the other students."

The headmaster paused. "One of the students... Terunori Inaba... we selected him because Hisagi Shuhei looked over his previous test to get in and requested Terunori be submitted to a verbal test. Since the fukutaicho of the ninth division has taken an interested in him we decided to add him to the list. We also expect the students to be on their best behavior. We will be releasing the list this afternoon."

**M**

Yukio woke up the next morning to hear the young Shinigami of the forth division snoring near by. He also blinked a couple of times as he watched Hanataro drool into his pillow. The Fullbringer took a deep breath before standing up and stepping out of the room. He sat on the edge of the patio and looked at the garden frowning without his video game. "Seriously... why did the Quincy have to be involved. I really hate them."

The entire stone garden was covered with water from the night before and added to his misery. He turned his head slightly when he heard Hanataro snerk as he woke up. The boy sat up and smacked his lips before looking around the room. "Ahh... good morning."

"I want to run you through some training." Yukio watched as the young Shinigami blinked a couple of times.

"I have chores though."

"Most people do their morning training before their chores."

"The other division members always told me that chores is a form of training." Hanataro held up a finger while smiling.

"You do realize that they are lying to you, right?"

"Why would they do that?"

"Never mind. If you want to get stronger then you need to train early. Plus... I heard that you actually have more energy after exercising."

"Really?" Hanataro's sleepy eyed expression didn't change as he slammed his fist into the palm of his hand. "I'll do it then!" Yukio stood up and walked over to his game and pushed a few buttons. He watched as the young Shinigami disappeared and reappeared onto the game. The young member of the forth blinked a couple of times before waving his hand. "Hello!"

Yukio watched the young Shinigami wave his hand. "How come you're taking this experience better then Toshiro did?"

"I don't know." Hanataro folded his arms across his chest and placed one finger against his chin. "I guess it happens to be because I'm so easy going."

"All right. Let's begin you're training."

"I don't have my zampaktuo though... it's by my bed."

Yukio turned his head to look at the bed. "Oh... well... we're not working on that today. Today I'm getting an idea of your skill in regards to your kido. I want you to destroy some stuff."

"What stuff?" Hanataro blinked a couple of times only to see some rather large boulders coming down. The young Shinigami began to run and dodge with his arms in the air without screaming.

The blond haired Fullbringer blinked a couple of times. "What are you doing?"

"Running and dodging." Hanataro continued.

"Why?"

"I know I'm good at it."

Yukio stared at the young Shinigami as he continued to run. Taking a deep breath Yukio looked away and poked a few buttons. "All right. Try these."

Hanataro blinked a couple of times as he skidded to a stop. The member of the forth jumped when an arm burst through the floor and he finally let out a scream. "What are those things?"

"Zombies..." Yukio spoke so that every syllable was emphasized.

"What is with you and zombies?" The young Shinigami began to run around again. The young Fullbringer frowned as Hanataro continued to dodge the zombies only to have one finally grab his ankle. "I'm not sure how well this is working..."

The zombie's and boulders disappeared. "Fine... we'll try this."

A bunch of targets ended up appearing and Hanataro blinked a couple of times from where he was on the ground. He pushed himself up into a sitting position. "You want me to attack the targets?"

"Of course."

The young Shinigami held up his hand and used kido causing the target right next to it to explode. "Does this help you measure me current abilities."

"Not really. I'll need to come up with something that is more conclusive to measuring what your kido ability is. That means though I'm going to have to ask around." Yukio pushed some buttons so that Hanataro came out. "On the positive side you obviously got a lot of exercise."

Hanataro held up both of his skinny arms in a muscle pose. "I know. I am feeling more energetic."

"I'm not sure how that's possible with how much energy you were spending running around."

**M**

When Toshiro woke up the next morning he found himself starting in on the computer to do more paperwork. After a few hours Ichigo sat up on the bed next to him and rubbed the top of his head. "You're still working on that Toshiro? Can't you give it a rest?"

"It's my job."

"Yes. But don't you want to act like a child?"

"Why would I? I'm not a little kid."

"Yes. I mean... don't you want to have fun sometimes?"

"Work comes first. So does training."

The orange haired teen let out a sigh as he pushed himself up off the bed. "I'm going to go and do breakfast. Try to think of something fun you want to do."

The young taicho instead ignored the comment from Ichigo and continued to work away at what little paperwork he had left. His hands stopped typing into the computer when he heard his Soul Phone go off. His small, thin hand reached out for the nightstand and answered the call. "Hitsugaya Taicho speaking."

"_Toshiro! You idiot!_"

The person in question blinked a couple of times at the familiar voice on the other end. "Kurosaki?"

"_Yukio is an idiot as well!_"

"I can understand what Yukio's done to upset you, but I honestly can't understand what I've done."

"_Really? I was expecting a call from you telling me how you're doing._"

"Is this because I haven't visited in over a week. I can understand why you're upset about that, but wouldn't the polite thing to do be to tell you I won't be able to come anytime soon."

"_You stupid idiot! I'm talking about the fact I know something has gone down._"

"I'm not allowed to tell you though what goes on. You know that."

"_Toshiro... what don't you understand about me wanting to know that you're all right?_"

"Oh..." Toshiro blinked a couple of times. He didn't notice the door to his room open up. "All right. I'm fine."

Silence came from the other side of the phone. Karin then spoke with a tone that said she meant business. "_Are you telling me you're fine to get me off your back because you know I can't sense you're telling me a lie over the phone, or are you really telling me the truth?_"

"I'm telling you the truth. Kurosaki"

"_Really? So... when will you be able to come and visit me?_"

The young taicho felt his throat tighten and he let out a chocking sound. "I... I can't."

"_Let me guess. You're busy again._"

"Yes. That's why I can't come and see you. I..."The young taicho felt the phone snatched from his hand. He turned to look at the orange haired teen who was glaring at him.

"Go eat your breakfast Toshiro."

Toshiro's voice tightened as he reached out for the phone. "Kurosaki! Give that back!"

"You're talking to my sister, are you not?"

"That is none of your business! It isn't as if we're talking about you, or I'm telling her information I'm not supposed to tell her!"

"You lied to her about being fine."

The young taicho felt his entire body stiffen. His eyes widened in horror. He tried speaking to the other male as his teeth gritted and his throat tightened painfully. "Don't! Don't tell her! Don't tell her that I can't leave my own room!"

Ichigo placed the phone. "Toshiro is physically fine Karin. He's not though dealing well with what happened. Right now he can't leave his room."

"Kurosaki!" The temperature in the room dropped. "I'm going to kill you!"

"I think my sister wants to kill you." The orange haire teen handed back the phone. "Think carefully about what you say to her. She's not stupid."

Toshiro swallowed and took the phone. "Hello?"

"_Toshiro... WHY would you tell me you're fine when you're not._"

"Because..." Toshiro swallowed. "_I don't have a good reason other then myself being fearful._"

"_What is this about you not leaving your room?_"

"I... he shouldn't have told you that."

"_Toshiro. Get it through your thick skull that I'm worried about you. Are you able to leave your room?_"

"I..." The young taicho took a deep breath. "No."

"_When you're ready to talk about what happened to you then give me a call. It doesn't matter if it is tomorrow, the next day, the next month or the next year. I'll be waiting._"

"You're not bothered by the fact I can't play soccer with you? Or... well, other things?"

"_I'm bothered. I have a pass to come and go to Soul Society... so I'll use it to come and visit you._"

"When did you get that?_"_

"_This Shinigami came by. Dad pretended as if he didn't know him. I'll give you a week or too though. It's all right I think to tell me things now. About Shinigami. I know who my dad is._"

"It doesn't bother you that he's my former taicho?"

"_No. Not at this point in time. Take care of yourself. Don't do anything that would make me worry. If I find out you did... well, you know what I will do to you._"

Toshiro breathed a sigh of relief when Karin hung up the phone.


	20. Hatred Spreading

**Finding Friendship  
><strong>_**Hatred Spreading**_

Rukia woke up early in the morning and dressed for her daily duties as a noble of the Kuchki clan as well as the fukutaicho of the thirteenth division. The first thing she did was walk from her room to the room the girls were staying in and open the door up so that light shown on the four girls in the room. The female fukutaicho blinked a couple of times as she looked in the room. "Rise and shine!"

The young fukutaicho watched as Candace continued to snore as she lay on top of her futon. Bambietta rolled over from her back getting her feet tangled up in her futon covers that she had kicked off during the night as she tried pushing herself up. Liltotto opened her eyes and glared at the fukutaicho. Meninas muttered into her pillow. "No... five more minutes mommy."

Bambietta sat up and glared at the girl. "You... I don't like you."

One of Rukia's eyebrows rose up as she saw the violet head of hair in such disarray. She couldn't help but feel the corners of her mouth twist up. "I want to know what you want for breakfast."

"Don't care." Liltotto turned over and looked at the wall.

The violet haired female glared at her. "As if I'm going to tell you my favorite foods so you can poison them!"

Rukia's mouth twisted into a frown. Letting out a sigh she shook her head and headed to the kitchen to be begin preparing the meals for the girls. One of the servants came in and blinked a couple of times. "Lady Kuchiki... if you want something to eat we can make it for you."

"No. I'm actually making something for the four girls. I'll get something at thirteenth division after I make sure our guests are taken care of." The small fukutaicho continued to mold the rice into four shapes on the plates. Ever single one of the shapes was a rabbit. She then proceeded to pace bowls of miso soup onto the plate and decorated the plates so that the breakfast plates looked like Chappy. She took a deep breath as she carried the dishes along with a pot of tea and cups back to the room.

Meninas and Candace were then awake. The bigger of the blonds was grumpy and half asleep when Rukia handed her the plate of food. The corner of Candace's mouth twisted up in disgust when she saw it. "What is this?"

"Breakfast."

"I'm not some little kid. Seriously..." The girl turned her head away.

She then placed a plate in front of Liltotto who continued to ignore her. Meninas' eyes lit up when she saw the plate. "That is so cute! I love it! Thank you Rukia-chan!"

Rukia noticed that the violet haired girl was sulking in the corner. She went and set the plate down onto the ground. She watched as two violet eyes turned to look at the rabbit. The eyes at first widened in excitement, but then the girl turned her head to look away. She then stood up. "If you four need anything else then let me know. Or let one of the servants know if you can't find me."

Candace continued to glare at the food while Meninas ate her food with zeal. Rukia sighed as she left. "_I hope the girls can settle in._"

"_Finding their place is going to be hard._"

**M**

The first year academy students left their final class of the day in time to notice a group of students gathering around one of the bulletin boards where the tests were normally posted. Hana's attention was perked with curiosity and she headed over to see what the other students were looking at. She quickly found out that she couldn't see over the shoulders of the taller students and let out a deep breath of frustration. She eventually backed away and sat on a bench waiting for it to clear out.

A voice from behind her caused her to look back. "That is likely the list of students the teachers are asking to be a part of that Shinigami Kids Society. The chances of either one of us being on the list is slim."

Hana turned her head to look at her childhood acquaintance. "Terunori-kun. I understand why I wouldn't have a chance as I struggle with school, but why not yourself. You were always very smart."

"Smart? There has always been someone smarter then myself. Anyways... I'm not doing well in class. I'm actually doing worse then you. They're likely as Kawasawa said going to pick the smarter ones in the class."

"I still want to know who happened to be picked for the Shinigami's Kids Society. I don't care if I happened to be picked. I'm curious to know more about it."

Inaba blinked a couple of times. "I'm not so sure it is that big of a deal."

"Then why did Kawasaw-kun say it would help."

"He thinks it means those in the club will get to meet high ranking Shinigami. However... while someone our age may be a low ranked seated officer..." The male student frowned. "... none of them should be high enough rank to make any difference to anyone who is climbing the ranks."

"What does it mean to climb the ranks."

Inaba let out a sigh. "That means they are becoming a Shinigami because they want a very good job within the ranks."

"How's that different then..." Hana found herself interrupted by a noise from the group over at the boards. Kawasawa Honzo broke away from the crowd and walked over to the two. "Terunori... why are you on the list? You're struggling with school. You shouldn't be on the list."

The other boy blinked from behind Hana who was still sitting on the bench. "I honestly don't know."

One of the forth year students with Kawasawa stepped up to Terunori and grabbed him by the front of his uniform. "How come you get to go? There are plenty of other students that make better grades then you do."

"Why don't you ask the teachers that, because I honestly didn't think I would be picked."

Hana noticed that the students had stopped gathering around the bulletin board and got up ignoring the scuffle near her. She walked over to the board and looked at the list. She pointed at the list with a smile on her face. "Hey! Terunori-kun! I'm the other person picked for our year! Do you think Momo-chan will be a part of the Shinigami Kids Society, or do you think she's considered an adult."

Two brown eyes blinked as Terunori looked at her with annoyance as the other boy didn't let go of the front of his uniform. A sudden shout caused everyone to turn their head to look at a couple of sixth years stepping forward. The male walked over. "Knock it off you guys. There is no reason to get angry with whether a person was selected or not."

"Yamaguichi... can you explain why Terunori ended picked?"

"I'm not sure why you're upset Kawasawa. You were one of the two picked for your year."

"I thought that the students were being picked for their grades. I know for a fact that Terunori's grades are some of the worst in his class."

The sixth year male and female looked at Terunori with surprised looks on their faces. The female choose then to speak. "Perhaps the problem comes from the fact students weren't picked for this based on grades but other criteria that the teachers found to be important."

"Well... do you have an idea what that may be?" Terunori felt the one male let go of his uniform. "Because I certainly don't know."

"Sorry. Even if we were told it's not something we can tell you at this point in time. There is a reason for their choices. A good one..." The two sixth years turned and left then.

Hana walked over. "If you're going to pick on Terunori because of his bad grades then pick on me too. My grades aren't that good."

"Kamoku..." Terunori watched as the two males backed away and walked away. "I don't need you standing up for me. It makes me look bad."

"Why?"

"Because..."

"I was too scared once to stand up. I want to be able to face that person."

"That person..." The male took a deep breath. "... while you don't care about forgetting... others want to forget."

"Why? That person..." Hana frowned as she tried to think of the words she wanted to say.

"I was one of the people who bullied that person." Terunori watched as she opened her mouth. "Don't. I really just don't want to talk about it."

**M**

Rukia headed straight to her division and set to work at the paperwork as well as making sure two certain third seats were not misbehaving. She managed to find their stashes of drink and choose to dump them into the plants outside of the office window. She was in the process of dumping them out when her captain came into the room. "Ah... those two found new hiding spots for their drink?"

"They're always finding new hiding spots for their drinks. I'm surprised Kaien-dono didn't go nuts with the antics those two get into."

"Actually... he did in fact go nuts a few times because of them. He never lost it though in front of the lower ranked members and tended to rant to either me or Miyako. Or his family. Those he considered to be his family."

The small fukutaicho paused. "Those he considered to be his family?"

"Hitsugaya Taicho is one of them, but more along the lines of Rangiku. He'd rant in front of the young captain, but usually these rants amounted to... 'now don't let me ever catch you doing this Toshiro, or I'll tan your hide so you won't be able to sit down for a week'."

"I take it they were close?"

"Quite so. Hitsugaya Taicho was close to the entire Shiba clan. Ganju actually hadn't realized that Hitsugaya had been made a captain and came and chewed me out for letting such a thing happen. That boy also has a room at Kukaku's place no matter where she rebuilds it as." Ukitake smiled at her. "This said... I've told you before that Kaien had a darker side. You saw what he was capable of that night."

"That was the only time I ever saw him lose it."

"I saw him lose it a few times when young Hitsugaya got badly hurt because he did something stupid. That child still does stupid things."

"Do you worry about Hitsugaya Taicho? Is he not a captain? Can't he take care of himself."

"Hitsugaya Taicho may be a captain, but he is still a child. " Ukitake held out a piece of paper. "There is a young Quincy we are holding in the cells that we need you to take over to the Kuchiki place. Actually... there is a second one, but Mayuri isn't finished fixing him up yet. Her treatment finished late at night so we had her stay in the cells."

"All right. This wouldn't happen to be this Gigi person the girls were talking about."

"This..." Ukitake's face contorted with horror. "No, no. That young lady is being held in forth division under strict psychiatric care. This is one that Orihime brought back for us." The taicho took a deep breath. "Actually... you need to be forewarned that this young lady hates Shinigami with a major passion. She was also killed by Kenpachi."

"_Don't all of those girls hate Shinigami? How is this really anything new?_" Rukia headed to the jail cells after she finished her other duties and was led down to the cells where a young female was sitting and sulking. "Hello. I'm am Kuchiki Rukia. I am to take you to your new quarters."

The blond haired female looked at Rukia with disgust. Her hair had a dark black streak in it and her mouth twisted up with great disdain, constantly morphing as she took in Rukia's figure. "Why should I follow you when I hate Shinigami and I know that I am a prisoner?"

"The place that I'm taking you is the place that the other girls are located."

"Yes. It's where you piled their bodies into pits after executing him."

Rukia didn't smile at the female and kept her cool. "Why would we bring you back just to kill you again?"

"Shinigami just happen to be that sadistic."

"And Quincy are not? As I recollect one of your group turned others into zombies. That person also bashed in the head of one of your own. We brought back the one who was turned into a zombie as well as having her head bashed in. She's still alive. So are the other girls."

"I don't believe you."

The fukutaicho of the thirteenth division remained silent. After a few minutes she decided what she wanted to say. "If you don't want to believe me then come with me to see the other girls. Come and see that they are doing all right. You'll see if this place is really an execution place or not."

The girl glared at Rukia for a few minutes before letting out a sound of frustration as she rolled her eyes and sat up. She followed Rukia rather reluctantly back to the Kuchiki estate. They headed back to the room where the other Quincy girls were staying in. Rukia opened up the door. The girls were in the room with very bored expressions on their faces. None of them looked up at the new person.

The blond haired girl with the streak in her hair folded her arms. "Really? What is wrong with all of you?"

Candace, Liltotto and Meninas looked up while Bamietta continued to look at the wall. "Oh. You're alive too."

"I see you're as charming as ever Bambi-chan."

Meninas blinked a couple of times while her mouth twisted up into a pout. She then stood up dropping her Chappy pillow as she hurrying forward to hug the girl in a tight hug. "You're alive!"

"Great..." Liltotto looked away before flopping down onto the ground. "It was crowded enough in this room without you being here too Bernie."

"I'm not a guy you know."

"Ignore her Nickie. She's in a bad mood because we lost to those stupid Shinigami."

Rukia turned to the girl. "I'll see to it that another futon is brought in here."

The girl turned to look at her with cold eyes. "Don't think being nice to me is going to make me suddenly like you. There is a reason why I hate Shinigami."

Rukia left the girls to their own devices as she arranged the futon.

**M**

Berenice turned her head towards the violet haired girl in the corner before going and sitting down on the ground in frustration. "I'm surprised that you're putting up with this Bambi-chan."

Candace glared at the girl in the corner and spoke when R. "She's not. She's been talking to herself as well as storming off when she gets pissed off. There is no telling what kind of trouble she is thinking up."

The other girl frowned while folding her arms across her chest. "Ah... so she's doing that again. I thought you out grew that a long time ago. You know that you're not a child anymore."

"Don't egg her on. I hate having to deal with that." Liltotto continued to lie on her side with a bored expression on her face. "Could you try keeping her out of trouble? There is no telling what her idiotic brain is thinking up. As much as I hate the Shinigami we're not in a position to do anything about it."

"What do you mean? Why don't we fight?"

Candace looked at her. "Really? His majesty is dead."

"Yeah right. There is no way..." The new addition to the room paused. "That's completely messed up! We're stronger then those murderous Shinigami!"

"Then why did we lose?" Liltotto let out a sigh. "Let's not talk about this subject. The stupid Shinigami's Kids Society is having its stupid first meeting tomorrow and we're expected to participate."

"Yeah right. They must be crazy to think that we'll get alone with Shinigami. This only makes me hate them even more."


	21. Fears and Happy Happy

**Finding Friendship  
><strong>_**Fears and Happy Happy**_

Two teal eyes blinked a couple of times as the person they belonged to looked around the gray colored world. The atmosphere was dense with a mist like substance and the area was hard to breath. A small hand reached up to push through the dense mist trying to find a way out of the place to safety. He couldn't reach anything solid with his hand as he tried reaching out for something that was familiar.

The two eyes widened as something thin and boney reached out and grabbed the wrist of the young captain as he tried to step forward, pulling his left arm backwards. The young taicho stopped moving and didn't want to look backwards as he feared what he would in fact see. His throat dried up as the tension grew from not knowing what was behind him. He finally turned to look at whatever the bone thing hand belonged to.

The next thing the young taicho knew he was sitting up in bed half awake, his throat chocking as he did so. His vision was fuzzy as he looked around trying to find the person who left the indent beside him in his bed. His skin crawled with a sticky heat and his voice strained. The first time he opened up his mouth nothing came out. He pushed his lips together and swallowed again. "Kurosaki?" The boy swallowed again as his voice got louder. "Kurosaki!"

Ichigo quickly came around the corner with a towel wrapped around his shoulders and a frown spread across his face. His orange hair was dripping wet. "Toshiro?"

"Where were you! And it's Hitsugaya Taicho!" The young taicho's mouth twisted up into a frown as his eyes were wide.

The orange haired teen let out a deep sigh. "I wanted to take a shower before I went to bed. You must have dozed off while I was gone. Toshiro... are you all right?" The young taicho's head turned as he flopped down onto his side of the bed. He felt a soft blanket placed over him. "I'm going to leave the door open tonight as it is supposed to be warm tonight. You should probably try and take a shower so that you don't stink as much as you do."

Toshiro pushed his lips together before pushing himself up. He took a few steps towards the door only to freeze at the door way. Ichigo looked up at him with a frown. "You can't make it through the door, can you? Don't you feel rather nasty? I know I was sweating this afternoon."

The young taicho turned his head to look at the young man as the corners of his mouth turned down. "I don't want to leave my room. Would it be possible..."

"... what might be possible?"

"Could you bring me a small towel and a bowl of water? I can clean up that way?" Toshiro swallowed as he saw the frown on Ichigo's face deepened telling him that the orange haired teen wasn't happy with this.

"Sure." Ichigo stepped out of the room while Toshiro pulled his feet towards him and let his head drop down. His entire body relaxed and he tried not to think about the nightmare he had. Soon the details he dreamed fled his young mind. A hand tapped his shoulder causing him to suddenly jump. Turning his head he saw Ichigo with a bowl of water. "Here. Do you want me to step out of the room so you can do what you need to do?"

Toshiro looked at the other young man before turning his head away. "If you turn away and promise not to look... that would be fine." His small hands reached out for the bowl of water Ichigo brought him and carried it over to the floor in front of the bed. He then fetched himself a fresh set of under clothing and knelt down in front of the bowl in a traditional position before he began to bathe himself. When he was finished he found himself climbing into bed next to Ichigo who was reading a book.

For some reason being near Ichigo calmed him and made him feel safe.

**M**

A small pink blur blew through the Seireitei as the sun shown down. The small figure pulled to a stop outside of Ukitake's small house and slammed the doors open. "Good morning Ukki!"

"Good morning Yachiru-chan. Are you looking forward to the first meeting of the Shinigami Kids Society today?"

"I'm hoping there is lots and lots of candy to munch on at the meeting." The young fukutaicho struck her usual pose.

"Remember... you can't wear your uniform. Nobody is using their rank there either, so no mentioning that you're a fukutaicho."

Yachiru blinked a couple of times as she looked at the white haired taicho. "If I'm not allowed to wear my uniform then what am I to wear to the meetings?"

"Anything you want I guess."

"Is Aniki coming?" Yachiru watched as a frown appeared on the man's face. "Aniki doesn't want to play?"

The frown twisted up into a weak smile. "Hitsugaya Taicho isn't feeling to good. He may not feel up to playing with people today."

"Aniki always feels good though. He's always saying he never gets sick even when Ran-Ran says he is sick. She sticks him in bed so he can't play with me. I'll go tell her not to make him stay in bed so he can come play."

"Wait..."

Yachiru disappeared before Ukitake could finish what he wanted to say. The small fukutaicho sped off to the tenth division and popped into the tenth division offices where Rangiku was looking at the paperwork with frustration. "At least he's running out of paperwork he can do without leaving his room."

"Hi Ran-Ran!"

The busty fukutaicho looked up at the smaller one and smiled. "Hello Yachiru-chan."

"I've come to tell you not to ground Aniki. I know you think he's not feeling good, but don't ground him so that he misses the meeting! I'll be mad at you if you do!"

Rangiku blinked a couple of times. "Say what?"

Yachiru sped off before the fukutaicho of the tenth division could get a clear answer as to what she meant. The pink blur then headed over to the sixth division. She hurried over to the desk and peeked over the edge to see that Byakuya was busy with his paperwork. The man looked up to see that she was watching him and reached into his drawer and pulled out a piece of candy and tossed it to the side. The pink blur chased after the candy and then headed over to the Kuchiki clan estate.

The young fukutaicho hurried over to the room she knew the Quincy girls were staying and slammed the door open with a loud bang. "Good morning Candy-chan, Mouse and Lemon Drop! You're coming to club today right! We're going to have a lot of fun."

"You have got to be kidding me."

Yachiru blinked a couple of times as she saw two new faces she hadn't yet seen. She quickly bounced over to the one with a streak in her hair. "Hello Stinky-chan."

"Say what?" The girl sat up as her facial features twisted up.

Liltotto giggled from where she was still sleeping in her bed. "She thinks you stink."

"Do you want a pounding?" The girl with the streaked hair sat up so that she could look Yachiru in the eye.

"If you want to fight then I'll be happy to play Stinky-chan." Yachiru reached out and patted the girl on the head. "How did you get your hair to look like a cute Skunky?"

Candace sat up and rubbed her eyes. "She decided to call you stinky because your hair looks like a skunk. That's hysterical Berenice."

Berenice glared at the girl. "Wait... you were with that dude that killed me."

Yachiru blinked a couple of times before pointing her finger. "Ah! You're Ken-chan's friend." A frown spread across her face. "Ken-chan didn't have much fun playing with you. I don't want to play with you anymore."

The Quincy with violet hair sat up and blinked a couple of times. "That Shinigami brat is messed up in the head."

The female Quincy nicknamed Stinky-chan turned her head to look at the violet haired Quincy. "You aren't one to talk about being messed up in the head."

Candace glared at Bambietta. "That's for sure... what with the way you like blowing up things."

"You like blowing up things!" Yachiru hurried over to the girl. "I like making a mess of things to." She held a hand to her mouth. "We're only allowed to do that when Ken-chan is playing though."

The violet haired female blinked a couple of times. "Would you please go away."

"All right Bomb-chan!" The pink haired blur disappeared then and headed over to the forth division. She sped around the corner until she came to the room that was being prepared for the club meeting. "Good morning Kotetchin!"

The fukutaicho of the forth division looked up blinking a couple of times. "Good morning Yachiru. Are you looking forward to the meeting today?"

Yachiru climbed up into a chair and sat down. "Of course! Why wouldn't I be excited about making new friends! We're going to have a lot of fun today. Do you have any idea what we're going to do today?"

"I don't know... Ukitake Taicho sent over a ton of candy for me to put out."

"Can we do crafts!" Yachiru stood up in her chair and leaned forward as she raised her hand up.

"Crafts?" Isane's mouth twisted up into a frown.

"Everybody loves glitter!"

The forth division fukutaicho's mouth dropped. "I don't know..."

"You don't like glitter Kotetchin?"

"Well... I do like sparkly things like all girls."

"Then we need lots and lots of glitter, paper and glue! And scissors!"

"Yes... but..."

Yachiru's mouth twisted up into a pout. "Why not?"

"Do you think the males in the club will enjoy glitter?"

The pink haired fukutaicho's mouth twisted up for a few minutes. A smile then spread across her face as she raised her hand in the air again. "Aniki likes sparkly things!"

"What do you _mean_ Hitsugaya Taicho likes sparkly things?"

"Aniki makes it glitter naturally!"

"Oh! You mean that he is able to make it snow. I don't think that counts."

"Yes it does! Plus he makes those ice sculptures of his. They sparkle too!" Yachiru's mouth formed into a pout.

The corner of Isane's mouth twitched. "All right. Hitsugaya Taicho likes sparkly things too." She let out a deep breath thinking the situation was taken care of only to blink a couple of times as Yachiru began to strip of her uniform. "Kusajishi Yachiru! What are you doing!"

Yachiru looked up as she blinked a couple of times. "Ukki said since I can't wear my uniform I could wear anything I want."

"Yes. But why are you stripping here. You don't have any clothes here."

"Silly Kotetchin. I'm going to wear my birthday suit."

Isane blinked a couple of times as she took in what the younger fukutaicho said. The color left her face when she realized what Yachiru happened to be thinking. "Kusajishi Yachiru Fukutaicho! That is completely inappropriate!"

The pink haired fukutaicho blinked a couple of time mid dress. "Why?"

"I don't think the other children will appreciate you running around naked in front of them."

"Why not?"

"Do you see other people running around in their birthday suits?"

"When they're drunk I do!"

Isane felt more color leave her face. "How about when they aren't drunk and in a sane mind."

Yachiru tilted her head. "I guess not." The small female pulled her uniform back on. "I guess I'll go ahead and pick something else to wear to the meeting." A smile spread across her face. "Wait" I know what I want to wear! See you later Kotetchin!"


	22. It's a Game Like Life

**Finding Friendship  
><strong>_**It's a Game Like Life**_

The room of the young forth division Shinigami was still dim when Yukio woke up from sleeping. The boy stepped outside of the room to see the sky was a deep violet color indicating there was a couple of hours still until dawn and began to fiddle with his hand held gaming device with a frown on his face. After the morning sun began to peek over the edge he stepped back into the room and nudged Hanataro with his foot. "Time to get up for your training."

The young Shinigami sat up blinking a couple of times only to find him zapped into the game. "Have you come up with a new training for me?"

"Not yet. We'll focus on getting you morning exercise." Yukio proceeded to drop boulders on the young Shinigami and have zombies chase after him. He listened to the young Shinigami yell in fright at the zombie like figures. The young Fullbringer watched as a zombie from underground grabbed Hanataro's ankle and caused the Shinigami to fall on his face ending the game. Yukio brought him out and Hanataro struck his muscle pose and claimed he felt his muscles were getting better.

The young Shinigami then pushed himself up onto the ground. "I have to go get my chores done so I can go to the Shinigami Kids Society meeting."

"I'm not going to the SKS meeting." Yukio sat on the edge of the patio. "I don't want to have anything to do with those Quincy."

"I don't think they want anything to do with us either." Hanataro looked off into space. "Actually... I wonder how many will actually show up and if something chaotic happens."

"Something chaotic always happens when it comes to Shinigami."

"Actually... I was thinking that something chaotic happens whenever any of the Shinigami associations meet. I wonder too which of the Shinigami will show up. Our fukutaicho is chaperoning today... but we'll need to eventually find a permanent sponsor."

"Well... I don't care for politics much." Yukio stood up. "I'm going to go and pester Toshiro. I might help him with paperwork if he's not done so that I can play games with him."

The Fullbringer walked to the tenth division following the same path Hanataro brought him along the other night. He knocked on the door to Toshiro's room only to receive no answer when he knocked on the doorframe. He saw that the young taicho was playing the game he had left and not responding. He didn't though see a familiar orange head of hair. "Toshiro... where's Ichigo?"

Yukio let out a big sigh when he didn't receive any form of response.

**M**

The small taicho awoke blinking a couple of times before stepping out of bed and did his morning routine for exercise as well as some basic training. After working up a sweat he used the bowl of water and towel that Ichigo brought the night before to freshen up and changed his clothes. He felt better physically despite still having a muddled mind in regards to what happened to him during the war with the Quincy.

He didn't notice Rangiku peek in through the door before heading off. He headed straight for the computer and began to do the paperwork only to realize after a short period of time that he had no more paperwork to work with. A smile appeared on her face despite the worry she had in her eyes. Toshiro closed down the lid of the computer with a click and looked around to see that Ichigo was still sleeping.

His eyes then fell upon the television and game system. He stood up from where he sat on the bed and slipped over to turn on the game. His ears picked up on the whirring of the machine as his eyes picked up on the bright colors. "_This game is different then the ones Yukio's introduced me to before. Does semi-classic game mean colorful? I'm not too against this if that is the case as I am not off put by color._"

The next thing he knew he was playing a very small person dressed in red that ran around the screen in a rather big place. Despite the fact he should have been chasing after a Chappy he instead made the character run around and around. Ichigo woke up from the noise of the game and sat up with a frown on his face as he watched the young taicho. The frown quickly switched to a frown and the orange haired teen moved from the bed to sitting next to Toshiro. "Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Not especially."

A laugh caused Toshiro to finish what he was doing and turn his head to look at Ichigo. "What is so funny?"

"You've been making that character run around and swim for a good ten to fifteen minutes."

The young taicho turned his head back to the game. "I guess I'm enjoying it a bit. I like the colors. I also like how this place looks. It's much more peaceful then the other game."

Toshiro heard a sigh of relief from Ichigo, but didn't ask why he was relieved. He simply continued running around with the red clothed person before deciding it was time to chase the Chappy. Ichigo eventually patted his shoulder. "I'm going to go for a walk. I'll bring us back some breakfast."

"All right." Toshiro's eyes were glued to the screen. He didn't notice when the door opened again and kept playing the game. Someone eventually tapped him on the shoulder and he turned his head to speak to the person. "Kur..."

Seeing that the person was Yukio caused his face to fall. The other boy responded to this reaction. "You know... if you're not happy to see me I can take the game away." The young Shinigami handed the controller over to Yukio and folded his legs up to his chest. "Hey... that's not nice. Where's Ichigo."

"You're not Kurosaki. He was supposed to come back with breakfast."

Yukio tapped his shoulder again to make the young taicho look at him. "Are you not wanting to me be here?"

"No... it's fine for you to be here. You're still not Kurosaki." Toshiro's eyes dilated as his stomach suddenly grumbled. He felt his cheeks flush slightly from embarrassment before burying his head into his arms.

Yukio moved over so that his back was leaning up against Toshiro's side. "So... you're grumpy because you're hungry?"

"Kind of like that." Toshiro muttered into his arms. He felt the controller pressed against his leg causing him to look up. "I thought you were mad at me."

"Not really. You kind of acted as if you didn't like me when I came."

"I don't hate you..." The young taicho took the controller from Yukio's hands and began to push buttons on the controller.

"Do you like that game?"

"Not especially. Kind of. A bit."

The young Fullbringer switched to his hand held game system. Ichigo came into the room and let out a sigh. "I only brought breakfast for the two of us. You can have mine and I'll go and get myself something to eat. Keep an eye on each other and keep each other out of trouble."

Neither of the boy's reacted to this comment as Ichigo set the plates of food down next to each of the boys. He slipped out of the room. A few minutes Rangiku came by and came in unnoticed. The woman slipped over and tapped Toshiro on the shoulder. The boy looked up and blinked at her. "Hi taicho. I see you're playing a game. Are you having fun?"

"I'm not a little kid Matsumoto." Toshiro felt the controller plucked from his hands as Rangiku wiggled in between the two boys.

With her other hand she plucked Yukio's hand held and placed it next to the 64 system. A smile spread across her face as she watched the boy's mouth open up and his hands open and close as he stared at the place his hand held used to be. "Eat your breakfast. Then you can have your games back." Rangiku heard a chocking sound coming from the young Fullbringer as his eyes widened in horror. "Surely not having your game for a few seconds won't hurt. You're both still growing and need your nutrients."

Toshiro went straight into eating his food while Yukio sulked for a few minutes. Rangiku began to play the game herself. A frown spread across her face as she tried to figure the game out. "By the way. Where did Ichigo go?"

She watched as Toshiro leaned forward and pointed at the television screen. His finger was only a few inches away from the screen. "Matsumoto... you need to catch Chappy. It stole the key."

"Ah... I didn't think Chappy would do such a thing." She reached out and grabbed the back of her small taicho's clothing and pulled him backwards so that he was once again sitting. "Don't get to close to that television screen taicho."

"Apparently Chappy does do such things."

Yukio's hands stopped wiggling due to no longer holding the mini gaming console in his hands.. He turned his head to look at the young taicho. "Are you sure you're not a little kid?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" The young taicho's head twisted around to glare at Yukio.

"Nothing." The young Fullbringer reached down to pick up his food and began to eat.

Ichigo came into the room at that moment carrying a tray of food for himself. "Rangiku-san? If I knew that you were going to be here I would have gotten you something as well."

The woman turned her head to look at the orange haired teen. "Ichigo... what about school. Aren't you worried about that."

She watched as the teens face fell. "Truth be told... that's something I'm needing to think about carefully right now."

"Don't worry too much about taicho then. I can take care of him." Rangiku watched as the teens facial features turned to that of disbelief.

"Aren't you going to graduate high school? You would be stupid if you didn't." Toshiro looked at Ichigo with a horrified look.

"I was thinking about going through this Soul Reaper academy possibly instead." A silence fell over the room as Toshiro's eyes widened even more with horror. Ichigo took a deep breath. "Do you think that I should graduate from high school Toshiro."

The young taicho looked away. "I'm not sure. I just... I never saw you as someone who gave up on something once you've started."

"Then I'll work on something then to make sure I graduate. Means I'll have to make some visits to the world of the living and that I may not be able to stay the night with you some nights. Will you be all right with that Toshiro? You'll likely end up taking that sleeping tonic Isane made you."

Toshiro swallowed. "I guess I could try. I don't want you giving up something just because of me. I'm not that important."

Ichigo let out a deep sigh. "You are that important of a person though Toshiro. At least to me you are. I thought you already came to understand that."

"Sort of."

Rangiku titled her head at Ichigo. "Sorry. This is still a new concept for taicho so give him some patients. Relationships is the thing he struggles with the most."

"I'm more then willing to be patient."

Toshiro leaned forward and pointed at the screen again. "Did you know that you could go into the water Matsumoto? You can actually swim and dive. You can climb trees too."

A frown spread across Rangiku's face. "That's rather simple though, isn't it. Isn't there more to this game then that?"

"There are other things. I think the attention to detail is amazing though. I never would have thought to make a character be able to do the things they can in real life in a game. Except using guns to blow up..."

"Taicho! Don't you dare mention anything zombie related to me!" The woman took a deep breath. "Taicho... about the meeting for the Shinigami Kids Society."

"Absolutely not Matsumoto. I'll eat my food without complain, but I will _not_ go to that meeting."


	23. Meeting others

**Finding Friendship  
><strong>_**Meeting Others**_

The young first year academy student took a deep breath as she woke up and stretched. Hana hurried to get dressed before hurrying off to breakfast in the academy canteen. She then headed to the first class of the day and paid no mind to the students that watched her and simply remained in her own world. Her small feet kicked back and forth as she leaned into her hands. Inaba on the other hand felt as if his neck were crawling as he was all to aware of the others staring at him as well as the gossiping that went on around them.

Classes finally ended for the day and they both started towards the forth division for the first meeting of the Shinigami Kids Society after changing into the kimonos they wore when they were not at the academy. Hana held her pass close to her heart and walked with a skip to her step while Inaba clutched his pass within his robes. A sudden smack on the back of the head from behind caused the male first year to wince and take a hand up to the back of his head. He watched as Honzo and another male from the academy hurried past laughing.

He let out a sigh and started to walk again only to realize that Hana was not beside him anymore. He turned his head to see that the small female was looking at him in horror. "What ever is the matter Kamoku-san?"

"That was mean!" The small female's face paled.

"Don't worry about it." Inaba turned his head forward and began to walk forward only to have the sleeve of his summer wear grabbed. He tilted his head back to see that the small female's hair was watering at the corners and her mouth was twisted up into a frown. "_Why is it she's becoming a Shinigami? She acts this way whenever we're asked to kill Hollows._"

"How can I not worry about it? I heard it quite well and it sounded painful. We need to get you medical attention. I know... since we're already heading to the forth division we'll get it checked out there." Hana's hand reached up and grabbed his sleeve and began to pull him along behind her.

"Kamoku-san! We're going to be late for the meeting if we do that! Plus... it really doesn't hurt that bad." Inaba let out a sigh as she continued to tug him along.

A man with blond hair and strange eyeware glared at the two when they arrived at the forth division. Hana pointed her finger at Inaba. "He has a head injury... so please help him."

The other first year took a deep breath and tried speaking under his breath to get her attention. "Kamoku-san!"

"You two aren't Shinigami."

"That's because we haven't yet graduated from the academy. Eventually we will though."

Inaba's eyes narrowed from frustration while his mouth twisted up in frustration. The man pushed up his glasses again. "Seriously... with all the Shinigami we have to take care of we now have to take care of this."

Hana's mouth dropped and her eyes widened in horror. She let go of Inaba's sleeve and tore off down the hall way sniffling. "You bully! I'll find someone else to take a look at Terunori-kun's head!"

The man blinked a couple of times. "She's an academy student?"

Inaba glared at the man. "You're supposed to be a Shinigami, but made a little girl cry. You also likely made her get lost in an unfamiliar place. How lame is that?"

The man pointed his finger at the first year academy student. "You're one to talk. You have a head injury."

"About that..." The academy student continued to glare at the man with disgust. "... another academy student hit me on the back of the head and she over reacted. If you don't mind... would you help me find her. It would be nice to find her before the meeting starts as well as I would rather not be late."

The corner of the man's mouth twitched.

**M**

Soft petals fell in the courtyard of the Kuchiki clan estate as the Quincy girls stared out. None of the girls were looking forward to the meeting and each one of them ended up being lazy as they were preparing to go. Bambietta picked up one of the combs Rukia had brought to the room and attempted to brush out the tangled mess that had started when she had been turned into a zombie by Gigi. She pulled at the comb causing her head to yank until a snapping sound was heard.

A silence fell over the room as the other girls waited for the violet haired child to snap and destroy something. Bambietta clenched the comb in her hand until it turned into one of her bombs and explouded. Berenice sat against the wall with her arms crossed behind her back and her mouth pushed together in disgust. Candace and Meninas stared in shock while Liltotto let out a rather bored yawn.

"What is going on here?" Rukia came around the corner only to receive annoyed looks from the girls. Her eyes quickly picked up on Bambietta's injured hand and hurried forward.

She touched the girl's shoulder only to have the violet haired girl jerk away. "Don't touch me!"

"I can't heal your hand if you don't let me near you."

"I don't want your help."

"I don't care if you want my help or not. I'm not going to leave you like this. What exactly caused this?"

"She blew up the comb she was using." Liltotto turned over to the other side. "You're such a moron Bambietta-chan."

"Lil!" The violet haired girl turned to try and attack the other girl only to have Rukia hold her back.

"Don't. It isn't worth it. Take a few deep breaths and calm down." The fukutaicho watched as Bambietta began to calm down. She watched as the girl turned around and she took the girl's hand in her own and began to heal the injuries. "_The only other person I know of to act like this is Hitsugaya Taicho... except his personality doesn't erupt like this. She's dangerous to others._"

"_Aren't all of these girls dangerous to others?_"

"_Yes... but she is also dangerous to herself._" Rukia finished and stood up to walk over to the pile of toiletries. She picked up a comb and walked back.

"Don't..." The violet haired female crouched down.

"If someone doesn't do something your hair will get worse." The small fukutaicho looked up at the other females. "I have the feeling none of you will help her."

"Of course not. She is annoying as hell." Liltotto piped up from where she was lying.

Berenice glared at Rukia as her lips pushed together as if she didn't wish to say anything at that point of time. The small female went to work on the girl's hair until all the tangles out and the locks cascaded in curls over the girls shoulders. The child's hair reminded her of something only for Rukia not to be able to place it. She set the comb and stood up. Bambietta continued to sulk. "This doesn't mean that I like you or Shinigami."

Rukia blinked a couple of times. "_Well... if she is anything like Hitsugaya Taicho then she is lying to me._"

"_Be careful comparing them. It isn't as if the two are blood related._"

"_Even if they were blood related there would be differences between the two. Look at me and my sister. Look at Ichigo and his siblings._" Rukia took a deep breath. "I'm here to take you girls to the Shinigami Kids Society meeting."

Silence fell over the room. "I'm not going." Berenice pulled her knees up to her chest and glared at Rukia.

"Bambietta's going. She wants to _play_ with that white haired Shinigami." Candace's mouth twisted up into a smirk. "His head that is."

"Hitsugaya?" The small fukutaicho felt her mouth twist up. "_She wants to pick on Hitsugaya Taicho?_"

"_That can't be a good thing. See what I sad about comparing the two._"

"_Yes... Isane is watching them today. Still... perhaps I should go ahead and stay and help her out._"

Rukia watched as Liltotto sat up. "I'm going for the snacks. I hope there are good snacks."

The fukutaicho then looked at the remain girls. A smile appeared on Meninas face. "I want to make friends. "

Candace folded her arms across her chest. "And this is why I'm going. To make sure everyone behaves."

Rukia blinked a couple of times. "_You mean you're going to make sure the other girls don't do anything that would be considered taboo like make friends._"

The small fukutaicho let out a deep sigh knowing full well that it would a long day.

**M**

The young Shinigami of the forth division went to work diligently on his chores. When he finished in the bathroom he wiped his forehead and removed the cloth he tied around his forehead to prevent sweat from dripping down. He then headed to the room that the Shinigami Kids Society was meeting in and saw Isane pacing back and forth. "Is there anything I can do?"

"You could start preparing a pot of tea. There are quite a few club members for this club. More then the woman's society or lieutenants meetings. The sweets are in the cupboard. We're not going to get them out until most of the club members are here. If we don't then Kusajishi fukutaicho will end up eating all of the sweets."

"Can do." Hanataro walked over to the counter and started up the electronic hotplate while he filled a pot with tea. He locked up when a couple of young people entered the room. "Ah... hello."

"Hello. I'm Hashi Miki and this is Yamaguchi Hirotada. We're both from the academy."

Hanataro reached out and shook the hands of both of the academy students. "Nice to meet you. I'm Yamada Hanataro."

The male student frowned as he shook Hanataro's hand. "Are you going to participate in the club as well?"

"Yes. Why?"

"I thought we weren't supposed to be wearing uniforms."

"Ah... I forgot." Hanataro headed off then to change. On his way he passed by two more people he didn't recognized, both of them male. He pulled out the outfit he liked wearing to the world of the living and smiled at the floppy hat. On his way back to the room he passed the third seat arguing with a boy and a girl about not running off without an escort in the division. He arrived at the room and found the two boys sitting by each other. Rin had also arrived along with Rikichi from the sixth division.

The two who had been arguing with Iemura came into the room with the third seat close behind them. The male child had a rather sour look on his face while he crossed his arms across his chest. The girl turned and glared at Iemura. "You're just a big old bully."

Hanataro watched as Isane tried to hold back her mirth at this comment only to rush out of the room. Laughter was heard from the other side of the door while Iemura's eye twitched with annoyance. The other academy students came in as the man left and everyone began to take a seat around the long table when a pink blur came hurtling in to stand in the chair at the head of the table. She raised a hand in the air. "Hello everybody! I'm looking forward to giving everybody nicknames."

Everyone stared at the young Shinigami as she stood on the chair despite the fact the Shinigami children were accustomed to her dolling out nicknames. Yachiru stood on the chair dressed in her red and white swimsuit. A pair of cat ears were on the top of her head. One of the girls from the academy raised her hand. "Um... what are you wearing and why are you wearing it?"

"I'm wearing a swimsuit! Since we're not allowed to wear our uniforms Ukki said I could wear anything I want. Except for my birthday suit! Kotetchin said so!" As Yachiru said this the four Quincy girls came into the room and took their seats trying to sit as far away from everyone else as possible despite the size of the room. "Hi Candy-chan! Lemon Drop! Mouse! Bomb-chan!"

"Bomb-chan?" Rikichi frowned as he looked at the girls.

"I'd be delighted to show you _why_ I have that nickname," Bambietta snapped.

Candace scowled at the two male academy students Hanataro passed on his way to change. "Hey... stop staring. Perverts."

A silence fell over the room. Yachiru raised her hand again with a smile on her face. "I nominate myself as club president!"

Everyone stared at the small Shinigami in shock. Hana leaned over to her companion. "Is she really a Shinigami?"

The fukutaicho of the eleventh division continued to raise her hand. "So... if nobody objects..."

"Kusajishi... you're already president of two clubs already." Shino came through the door then pulling along an exasperated Ryunosuke. "I think we should have someone else be the president."

"Then I nominate Aniki!" Yachiru continued along her merry way.

"Who?"

"Is that some kind of imaginary friend."

The small child slammed her hands down onto the table. "Aniki is not imaginary!"

"But who..."

"You know!" Yachiru waved both hands in the air "Snowball-chan! Shiro-chan!"

"Oh..." Rin's attention perked up as did a certain violet haired Quincy. "I know who that is."

"Who?" Ryunosuke blinked a couple of times.

"You know. He isn't here. Why isn't he?"

"Because _he_ doesn't care." Shino leaned over and whispered who it was into the ear of Ryonosuke and Rikichi. Both blinked a couple of times.

Her companion frowned. "I don't agree that he doesn't care."

One of the academy boy's raised his hand. "Since we're making nominations I nominate Kawasawa Honzo."

"I nominate Yamaguichi Hirotada."

Hana suddenly stood up with great zeal. "Then I nominate Terunori-kun!"

Terunori glared at the female and hissed her family name. Meninas' mouth formed a pout. "I nominate Bambietta-chan."

Isane counted off on her fingers. "All right. I'm going to hand out papers so you can vote. I want you to fold your papers in quarters when you are done."

"I'll write the names up on the board!" Yachiru bounced off her chair and pulled it over to the board. She scribbled the names on the board and said them as she wrote them. "Aniki! Bambi-chan!'

"What happened to calling me Bomb-chan?"

"Oh..." Yachiru erased the name. "Bomb-chan. Inni-Minni-Mini-Moe, Wasa-Wasa and Guchi-Coochi."

She turned around and pulled her chair back as the other children stared at her. "Let's start voting! Kotetchin will count the votes!"

The girl sat down and began to write the name in big letters before folding it in half and then half again and putting it into a cup. The two sixth years whispered to each other before going and asking Isane a question that only she could hear. Isane looked at the board. "Actually... yes. You are correct in that assumption."


	24. Sparkles

**Finding Friendship  
><strong>_**Sparkles**_

The fukutaicho of the forth division looked up at the board as she wrote the number or votes next to each of the names. She wrote a two next to Wasa-Wasa, threes next to the Bomb-chan and Inni-Minni-Mini-Moe. A six went by Guchi-Coochi and an eight next to Aniki. The young fukutaicho of the eleventh division was the first to break the silence. "Since Aniki isn't here today I'll be in charge!"

"Hold it..." Honzo frowned at the board. "How can someone who isn't here be voted in as the president?"

Shino rolled her eyes while Meninas stood up. "Who didn't vote for Bambietta!" The heads turned to look at the magenta haired female. "I know that she wasn't going to win, but there are four of us so she should at least have four votes." Meninas turned her head to look at Candace and Liltotto. "Which one of you?"

"Seriously?" Candace rolled her eyes. "Do you think the person who didn't vote is going to admit to it."

"Time for the club activity for today! We're doing arts and crafts!" Yachiru was standing on her chair again while quite a few of the club members stared in horror at the young female.

Meninas blinked a couple of times before a smile spread across her face replacing the frown. "I love arts and crafts!"

Rikichi stood up as soon as Isane pulled out the craft supplies and candy. His eyes widened at the glitter. "Well... if that is the activity for today then I'm leaving."

"Oh! See you then at the meeting Wednesday Tikki-Tavi!"

Many of the others got up to leave. As they left they eyed the activity with confusion. Of the male students only the sixth year academy student as well as Inaba were left. The first year only stayed as Hana tugged on his sleeve with excitement. Shino got up as well and dragged Ryunosuke out of the room as her companion looked on in disappointment. All of the female academy students stayed and began to look over the craft items with excitement.

Candace stood up. "This really isn't an activity that's my style. Hell... this whole thing isn't my style." She watched as Hana and a few of the other girls clapped hands over their mouths. "What?"

"You used a bad word."

The blond rolled her eyes at the response and headed out of the room. She stopped when she saw Liltotto heading over to the table with Meninas. "You aren't coming?"

"I came for the snacks. You know that."

Bambietta blinked a couple of times. Her violet eyes looked longingly at the crafts on the table as well as the treats as well as the crafts. She spun around. "I'm leaving. What I wanted isn't here. Maybe next time. Better be next time."

A couple of the academy students blinked a couple of times at what she said before turning back to the items on the table. Hanataro bustled around serving tea to the other children who stayed. Candace stood up and left as well. "This is completely stupid."

**M**

The small man dressed in red bounced across the screen as Toshiro pushed the buttons on the controller. The young taicho's knees were pulled up to his chest and his chin rested on top as he played the game. Ichigo watched carefully and wondered if he should tell Toshiro to take a break from the game and stretch for a bit. Yukio had moved to sitting on the front of the bed and was playing his game.

The orange haired teen read a book as he watched only to stop when he heard a loud sound much like the stomping of feet coming towards the door. He also heard a female voice talking in a loud manner. "How dare you not show up when I had to go!"

The door slammed open to reveal a violet haired Quincy. Her violet eyes glared at Toshiro only to widen suddenly upon seeing Yukio. She pointed her finger at the young Fullbringer. "You!"

"Great... it's a Quincy."

The young taicho's fingers stopped pushing the buttons on the controller when the door slammed open. He turned his head to look at the intruder. His mouth formed a circle. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean I'm doing here?"

Yukio continued to look at the girl. "That's a good question really."

The violet haired girl pointed a finger at the blond. "You! You're a tainted one!"

"It's Fullbringer, not tainted one."

"I don't care!"

Ichigo let out a deep sigh before placing a bookmark into the book he set onto the nightstand. The Quincy female stomped her foot down as she glared at Toshiro. "Is something bothering you? I mean... other then the fact Yukio is a Fullbringer... or as you want to call him... tainted."

"I don't appreciated being called tainted."

"I don't care if you like being called tainted!"

Toshiro continued to glare at the female. "What do you want?"

"You should know what I want!"

A silence fell over the room as the three males stared at the girl as she glared at them. A flare of fiery rieatsu was felt and the busty female fukutaicho of the tenth division. "What are you doing here?"

Rangiku grabbed the ear of the girl and gave a harsh tug. "I don't want you bothering him. "

The girl's violet eyes turned to glare at the woman. "I hate you."

"Saying that you hate people because you are upset is not a very mature response." Rangiku began to tug the girl away only to have her pull away for a brief moment so she could yell at Toshiro again.

"You stupid idiot! How is it that you're able to be named the president of the club when you're not even there! That makes no sense at all."

"So... you're jealous?" Yukio stared at the girl as Rangiku continued to drag the girl away.

Toshiro blinked a couple of times. "What did she mean..." Two teal eyes widened and a sharp gagging sound came out of the boy's throat. "Hell no! Absolutely not! I'm not going to participate simply because... simply because... I'm not going to."

Ichigo let out a deep sigh. "Calm down Toshiro."

**M**

The day didn't start off well for the young violet haired Quincy. Her hair was a mess and getting it untangled was a pain. The snapping of the comb caused her great ire that she pretty much took out on herself. The pain made her want to do something else that was destructive. The Kuchiki noble managed to stop her before she went to far over the edge. "_What the hell is wrong with her rieatsu?_"

"_You're problem with her rieatsu is that it is the opposite of your own._"

"_I don't have a problem with his reiatsu._"

"_His reiatsu balances yours out instead of conflicting with yours._"

"_I don't believe you. You're just a voice in my head._"

"_Despite the fact her reiatsu conflicts with you, you like the fact she is treating you nicely._"

"_Again... I don't believe you._" Bambietta quickly returned to sulking in her corner and trying to ignore the world around her. That was until Candace spoke reminding her a certain white haired Shinigami would be there. She stood up and caught the worried look on Rukia's face. "_She is worried that I will break the brainwashing placed on him._"

He though wasn't there.

She watched many others come into the room to make the room a crowded place. The need to blow something up or destroy something came her way and she looked away trying to ignore the fact he wasn't there like she wanted him to be. "_They're trying to keep us away from each other._"

Her attempts to zone out in order to not destroy something in the room or hurt someone ended up defeated by the pink blur that came into the room. "_You find her amusing._"

"_Stop putting things into my head._" Her feelings continued to twist in her stomach as she heard the young Shinigami with pink hair talk about her "Aniki" only for her to realize that she was speaking about her brother. On one side she was thrilled to be hearing about him, but on the other side she wasn't happy about the fact this little girl called him "Aniki". She watched though as his name was written on the board and her excitement grew.

On her piece of paper she wrote down "brother" without thinking about the situation much. The votes came back and he won the vote. Meninas of course noticed the discrepancy in the numbers and had to ask who didn't vote for Bambietta. The tension grew and her stomach churned. The voice in her head spoke up again. "_You're scared about saying anything. You think that they'll think you're insane if you say he's your brother. You're afraid they won't believe that he is a Quincy and not a Shinigami._"

Her eyes also took in the craft that the others would be participate in. "_Glitter?_"

"_You know that you want to. To participate in the craft and eat snacks._"

"_Why would I do something so childish?_"

"_Why indeed..._"

The young Quincy couldn't help but feel angry at everything that happened that day. "_This is all his fault you know!_"

"_You're in charge of your own feelings. Don't go blaming the way you feel on him._"

Bambietta didn't agree with the voice in her head and took off on a different path from the other girl. She headed towards the familiar rieatsu that kept pulling at the back of her mind. "_I mean... I voted for him and he couldn't even be bothered to show up! How dare he!_"

"_You know... he can't know that you want him there if you don't tell him._"

"_Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!_"

The violet haired female continued to storm over to the place she knew he lived. Arriving at the door she slammed the door open only to see someone who gave off the aura of a tainted one sitting there. Then _that_ woman showed up and dragged her away. The woman took her to a place that looked like it was an office, but was missing one of the walls. The walls had plastic draped to protect the inside from the elements while a couple of Shinigami moved around fixing things.

"I want you to stay away from him."

"It's none of your business." Bambietta looked away. "You're not his mother."

The woman's face muscles twitched as if she wanted to hit the girl on the top of the head. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. You're not his mother. You've got no business butting in."

Rangiku snapped at the small female. "_I_ am his legal guardian! It is _my_ job to make sure he is eating and sleeping correctly. It is _my_ job to take care of his growth a person."

Bambietta glared at the woman. "As if you're doing a good job of that." She watched as the color left the woman's face and the bright blue eyes widened from the verbal slap in the face. "Duh... you're letting that person take care of him instead. That is rather obvious even to me. Not that I would let that person take care of anybody... I don't like Shinigami what so ever. I just don't want to hear crap from some hypocritical floozie."

The woman let go of Bambietta's ear then and the violet haired female. The young Quincy turned to leave only to have her arm grabbed. "_You_ just called me a floozie."

The girl found herself being tugged out of the office and past the two Shinigami repairing the office. The men both had looks of horror on their faces. "_They're siding with her._"

"_Well... I can't blame them for siding with her. Your foul mouth is awful. I think they were staring in horror though because they're thinking about what she will do to you._"

"_As if she could do anything to me. She's not that tough._" They arrived at a closet and the woman pulled her in. Bambietta watched as the woman pulled out a brand new bar of soap. "What... are you going to make me clean bathrooms? As if I would let..."

The violet haired girl's eyes widened as the bar of soap was shoved into her mouth. Foam began to form around her mouth as her anger began to overflow and her rieatsu flared out. The woman placed her hands on her hips. "Don't think I'm going to put up with you not behaving yourself."

"_I want to kill her! I want to kill her!"_

"_If you really wanted to kill her, you would have done it already._"

"_Shut up! Shut up!_" Bambietta spit the bar of soap out of her mouth at the woman before turning around and blasting the door to the closet so that it ended up creating a gaping hole in the wall. She then stormed off and headed back to the Kuchiki estate without seeing the look of shock on the woman's face.


	25. da Big Boom

_Note – I meant to announce awhile ago that I made fifty-thousand. I also meant to bring up the fact I plan on adding Yushiro to the cast, but I'm waiting until Yushiro's gender is revealed before I actually add them in._

**Finding Friendship  
><strong>_**da Big Boom**_

The sound of footsteps could be heard approaching the jail cell shared by Bazz-B and Cang Du. Two Shinigami appeared around the corner and nodded towards the man with the Mohawk. The man formally with the flame powers rolled his eyes into the back of his head and stood up to follow them out of the cell with his hands cuffed. He found himself taken to a small room with a table and left there by himself. He began to drum his fingers on the top of the table and tap his foot in a steady rhythm.

Eventually two captains came into the room and sat down in the chairs across from him. One of the taicho's wore a pink kimono over his robes and the other had long white hair. He looked at them and frowned, his mind trying to think of what they wanted with him. The man with the white hair folded his arms in front of him and spoke in a clear manner. "You do understand that you're a prisoner of war."

"Yeah. I understand. I also deserve what ever fate you have in store for me. I'm not going to sell out my fellow Quincy. So don't even ask."

"No... we're not asking that." The man continued to look at him.

"Yes... well... I have to wonder if that isn't what you want. Don't you want more information on the others so we can justify your punishment."

"Nope." The man with the pink kimono leaned back in a relaxed manner. "The first question we have for you is whether you want a public trial, a private trial that has a jury of higher seated Shinigami, or do you want punishment to just be handed out."

"What kind of question is that?" Bazz-B watched as the two men remained silent from their response. His mouth continued to twist up into a frown. "Look... I deserve to be executed. So why don't you go ahead and just do that."

The man with the white hair asked the next question. "We are aware that certain Quincy have lost their powers."

"What? You think that is enough of a punishment?" The man narrowed his eyes at the two men. "You two must be more stupid then you think."

The white haired man kept his expression the same. "We're assessing whether you are a danger to society."

Bazz-B's eyes widened and he lowered his hands to his lap. "Why? I'm an enemy. A prisoner of war you know. How can I be a danger to a society that isn't my own?"

"That is a good question." The funny looking taicho took a deep breath . "We are deciding between whether you should have jail time, service hours or a combination of both."

Bazz-B's eyebrows rose up. "And what would that cost me?"

"Nothing." The pink kimono was annoying.

"Yeah. Right." Bazz-B leaned back and pulled his hands behind his head and crossed his knee over his leg. "There is something you want. Let me repeat the fact I'm not going to sell out my own."

The white haired man folded his fingers together. "What about helping your own?"

A confused face appeared on the Quincy's face. "Help them?" A laugh escaped his lips. "You must be kidding me. Now you want me to rat on them to what? Brainwash them? Of something similar?"

The white haired man continued. "The children aren't being treated as war criminals."

"Oh... so you want me to side with them so that they can brainwash them by having me tell them everything is all right?" Bazz-B shook his head.

"What would our brainwashing involve?" The man with the pink kimono said.

The man took a deep breath. "I guess it would involve making them think they were Shinigami or something. That we were wrong about this war."

"Do you think you think the war was wrong?"

"I can't say that the war wasn't justified Shinigami have been living for a very long time above us Quincy? And for what? Were we wrong for feeling the way that we did? Were we wrong for fighting for us to have the chance to live."

"Of course not."

Bazz-B blinked a couple of times. He leaned forward and brought his hands forward so that he was leaning on his elbows. "Now this is strange. Shouldn't you be denying all of what I said? That doesn't work in your favor. I mean... how can admitting that we had some kind of just cause. To you our cause can't be just."

"Revenge after a thousand years? No... that isn't justice." The man in the annoying pink kimono leaned forward with a more serious look on his face. "I wouldn't saying fighting for ones life is a just cause unless one is defending oneself or others. That was what your majesty told you it was though, wasn't it? For the future of the Quincy? A defense for your future survival."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"We think you do." The white haired man. "That's honestly beside the point. The Quincy deserve a future do they not?"

Bazz-B leaned back with a frown on his face and slid down with his hands in his lap. "What the..." The man shook his head. "Seriously... you two are messed up. Why are you trying to help us? And how do I know that this isn't some kind of ploy?" He listened the silence that filled the room. "There is something... or many things that you're not telling me. I don't like being played. What happens to be your goal."

"To make sure there is no war between the Quincy and the Shinigami again." The annoying man spoke again.

"Then exterminate us like you did in the past."

"We were thinking that we would try to get the next generation to make friends with each other and heal." The white haired man spoke then.

Bazz-B stared at the two men. "You are crazy. That's a major risk. It's just plain stupid." He let out another laugh. "And you want me to help?"

The white haired man continued to speak. "Actually... we're wanting you to give the younger Quincy a sense of security."

"Say what?" The Quincy's eyebrows rose up.

The taicho explained what he meant. "Those girls don't trust any of the adults among the Shinigami. That is why we felt we needed an adult they can trust. Since you don't have your powers anymore you're not as much of a threat as those who have their powers."

"I can fight ya know."

The white haired taicho kept going. "It's still the best option. That is why we're offering you ten years or service hours."

"Service hours? They'll think I'm a traitor."

The man with the annoying kimono spoke. "We didn't say the number of service hours it would be. We're talking ten thousand."

Bazz-B's eyebrows rose up. "Really? What the hell are you up to?"

The man with white hair lay out the numbers. "Even if you were to do ten hours of service daily you would not be able to complete it in ten years. This gives you freedom, but you can also have what could be best described as parole revoked if you do something that does negatively effect society. Of course... it is your choice what you do with your service hours."

An explicative came out of Bazz-B's mouth at that point showing he was angry. Quite a few more harsh words came out. He then narrowed her eyes. "If your so concerned about the future of the Quincy as you say... tell me. How is Basterbine Bambietta doing?" He watched as the men looked at him blankly. "You have no intention of telling me how she is doing."

"Actually... we're still learning which of the girls is which." The annoying man's eyebrows went up.

"The violet haired girl."

The white haired man sighed. "She's doing the worst. You have a connection with the girl."

"If I do it is none of your business."

**M**

"I hate you! How is it that you're able to be named the president of the club when you're not even there! That makes no sense at all."

Toshiro's eyes blinked a couple of times as Yukio stated that the girl may have been jealous of him. His mind focused on the fact _that_ girl happened to hate him. "_Why am I so concerned that she of all people hates me. I doubt the reason she hates me is because she is jealous. What could she be..._" The boy felt a panic attack set in. "Hell no! Absolutely not! I'm not going to participate because... simple because... I'm not going to."

The young taicho ignored the fact Ichigo was trying to calm him down and instead focused on the fact his stomach was lurching and he couldn't make sense of anything that went on in his head. "_She hates me._"

"_No she doesn't._"

"_And who the hell would suggest that I be president?_"

"_How about a certain fuktaucho of the eleventh division?_"

"_Yes... but who would go along with that?_"

"_You shouldn't doubt yourself like this._"

"_This isn't about self doubt. I know that everybody hates me._"

"_What about the two in this room?_"

"_Yeah... I'm his Guinea pig. As for Ichigo..._"

Hyorinmaru found himself able to speak as Toshiro's mind paused in thought. "_You want him to be a friend._"

"_Me wanting him to be my friend is not the same as him wanting me to be his friend. He wants a Guinea pig._"

"_All right... what about Kurosaki? And your fukutaicho. Do you think they hate you?_"

"_No. All right. I guess that it isn't everybody who hates me. But it certainly is a good deal of people out there."_

He felt himself calming and he saw that he was sitting on the bed. His back was leaned up against the board with his knees pull up to his chest. The controller was set down and Yukio and Ichigo were waiting patiently. He flopped over onto the bed while the sound of the game over played in the background. He took a deep breath. Ichigo sat down so that he could see the orange haired teen near him. "Have you stopped panicking?"

Toshiro swallowed. "_I can't believe I had a panic attack. I've not had a panic attack since taicho left. Why is it that the Shiba clan members mess me up like this._"

"_I don't think the reason for your panic attacks going away has anything to do with the Shiba clan members no longer being around to antagonize you. I think that it has to do with the fact you had better control of your emotions. A lot has happened. Your entire world has been upset and it's only natural that you would react. It's not something you've had to deal with before. That... and you have had emotional outbursts since he left. Just... not this bad._"

Two eyes blinked a couple of times. "I'm fine Kurosaki. You needn't worry."

A calloused hand reached out and ruffled his hair. Yukio made some kind of snark remark like he usually did. The game could be heard making the end of game noise.

**M**

All of the leadership work for the tenth division fell onto the shoulders of the fukutaicho as the young taicho was far from being in a sociable mood. Rangiku found to her surprise that the other members easily followed the instructions she gave out. Her facial features twisted up with worry. As she watched the two men working at rebuilding the wall for the office she couldn't help but have a particular thought. "_They seem to be obeying me easier then they did taicho. Is this because they don't like following the orders of a child?_"

One of the men turned his head as if he read her mind. "Don't worry Matsumoto Fukutaicho. We've actually gained a new kind of respect for our young taicho when he came in and practiced his swordsmanship with us. He also tried making sure all of escape. It does bother us that someone so young ended up in such a position though. Hopefully this Shinigami Kids Association will give him a chance to be a kid."

"He hates being treated like a kid though. He's been rebelling at the idea of going."

The other man spoke up. "He'll come around. We thought he didn't like us, but instead he was just shy and worried that we didn't like him."

"Yes... but it took something serious for him to come around and break out of that wall he built up. Getting him out of his quarters is another matter. He has yet to leave since he has gotten back. Well... except to sleep walk to use the restroom. Ichigo's been noticing that. Makes me glad he isn't taking the medicine to help him sleep as we would be having another issue."

"Matsumoto Fukutaicho... rumor has it that our young taicho was killed and then brought back?"

"Don't worry about that." Rangiku folded her arms across her chest only to fill a familiar rieatsu. She took a deep breath realizing who it was and stormed off. Dealing with the girl was a pain in the neck and the girl didn't put up with being punished. "_At least taicho is humble enough to take punishment when it is dolled out._"

She headed back to the office only to see a pink haired girl standing in the middle of the room. "Why did you ground Aniki?"

Yachiru had a bunch of crafts in her small hands with plenty of glitter. She also wore her swimsuit and cat ears. Rangiku knew better though then to not take her seriously. "He's not feeling well and is staying in his room."

"Aniki's never sick."

One of the men turned his head. "Hitsugaya Taicho is still recovering from his injuries from the war Kusajishi Yachiru. He's been staying in his room. You can ask the forth division if you don't believe us."

"Oh..." Yachiru's mouth continued to pout. "I wanted to play with Aniki. I almost never get to play with Aniki."

Rangiku sighed. "Yachiru... I will do my best to get taicho to a point where he can play with you."

"Promise?"

"No promises."

"That bad?"

"Yes. Sorry. I wish it wasn't this way."

"Tell him to get better!" The small pink blur quickly disapeared.

"What are you going to tell Hitsugaya Taicho?"

"Nothing at this point. I don't wish to worry him."


	26. Fiery Tears

**Finding Friendship  
><strong>_**Fiery Fears**_

The young taicho's mind was a whir and it couldn't slow down when he focused on the idea of getting back to work. It ended up slowing down when he played the video game and he didn't notice when Yukio left again in order to go and stay at Hanataro's place. Eventually the orange haired teen told him it was time for bed and he got ready with a fresh bowl of water that Ichigo brought him. The teen surprised him. "So... can we talk about how you're doing?"

"I'm doing fine."

"You had a panic attack. You can't leave your room. Well... you do get up during the night to go and use the restroom. You're half asleep when you do it."

Toshiro flinched suddenly. "You haven't told anybody about this have you?"

"Just Rangiku-san. I ended up telling her one of the times I went and got a meal. Are you fine with not being able to leave your room?"

"And what are you going to do about it? I doubt anybody can do anything about it." Toshiro looked away from the teen. "I'm guessing that eventually people will figure out my little problem. They'll find a replacement taicho. I'm honestly not that stupid."

"They don't want to replace you. I'm also sure you'll get over this."

The youngster turned over onto his side and pulled his hands up to his head tucked under the pillow. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes so that he would drift off to sleep. The next morning he opened up his eyes and sat up. He looked at both the game system and the laptop wondering what to do. Ichigo sat up and he turned his head to look at Ichigo. "Paperwork."

"I don't know. Rangiku-san has been quite upset with the fact you've been digging into the paperwork and games."

Toshiro turned his head towards the bookcase. "I've read all of those books multiple times in the last twenty, forty years."

"You haven't added anything new?" Ichigo's eyes rose up.

The young taicho's face twisted up into a look of surprise. "New books?"

"You've never thought about picking up a new book that wasn't in my dad's collection? I'm assuming that the collection belongs to the former taicho and not yourself."

Two teal eyes looked over to the bookshelf. "No."

"Will you be all right if I go home today and visit my family? I can get some books you haven't read before while I'm there."

The boy looked away. "I guess. I don't want any messages from your sister."

Ichigo took a deep breath. "You mean Karin? I actually think she's going to be giving me an earful when I get home and if that is the case I'll likely be giving you an earful. I think."

"What ever. I'll be fine." Toshiro felt Ichigo pat his shoulder. "Just be sure to ask Matsumoto for some paperwork for me to work on."

"Are you going to just sit here until I get back? You really should be doing something rather then just waiting. You might fall asleep."

Toshiro found his throat tightening. After a few minutes he let out a sigh and headed over to the television and turned on the game. His fingers began to push the button and he continued to play when a sudden feeling of dread washed over him. His hands started to sweat as if someone was looking at the back of his neck. He turned his head to look towards the door. He felt his chest tighten and the controller dropped from his hands.

**M**

Every morning Rangiku got up and got dressed in her uniform. She then headed the office to begin paperwork for that day despite the damage to the wall. Everything was almost fixed. She sat at the desk working away only to have the paperwork begin to pile up. The sound of those coming and going didn't cause her to lose focus until...

"Rangiku-san."

Rangiku's head darted up as she head Ichigo's voice. "Anything you need."

"I'm going to be going back to the world of the living."

The woman swallowed as she heard this. "_What about taicho? If Ichigo doesn't come back again he is going to be quite upset._"

"There are some things I need to take care of before I come back. I'm also going to be bringing some books Toshiro hasn't read. That should hopefully give him something to do other then video games and... well..." One of Ichigo's hands reached up to scratch the top of his head. "... Toshiro wants more paperwork to do."

"That child!" Rangiku shook her head only for her facial features soften. She let out a sigh. "Well... some things will never change."

"He told me to ask for some to be brought for him to do."

"As if!"

"That's what I told him."

"I'll bring him a late breakfast instead. Seriously... that child drives me crazy." Rangiku waved her head. "You go back to the world of the living. Things around here will be fine."

"Are you sure? I can easily limit the time I spend as much as possible."

"No. You need to visit your family. You need to also see to taking care of things at your school."

She bent her head down prepared to go back to work when Ichigo said something else. "Toshiro doesn't think _that_ issue will be fixed."

Rangiku choose not to respond, but the feeling of course caused her heart to sink. "_Will he ever be back to normal? Was the way he was a good thing though? I mean... he is a child, not an adult._" She continued working when she suddenly felt her young taicho's spiritual pressure rupture as if something was wrong. She stood up causing the papers to slide off the desk. She headed to the captain's quarters wondering what would happen to cause her small taicho to react like he was. She found herself skiggind to a stop right outside. "You!"

Ice was creeping from out of the room at floor level while the inside of the room. Standing outside leaning up against the wall near the door frame was one of the last people she expected to see. She felt her rieatsu flare up and her hands clench together as she looked at the man who crossed his arms over his chest. She took a deep breath as her anger began to peek. "What the hell are you doing here? Actually... what are you doing not in the prison cells. Did you escape?"

"Escape?" The man let out a slight laugh. "You actually think I am free. Not with the stipulations they've placed on me. The man shook his head."

"Stipulations?" Rangiku found herself swallowing. "You mean they let you out! After what you did to my taicho? Are you aware of what you did to him?"

"I'm well aware. That's why I decided to come here."

The woman felt her throat tighten. "So you're here to frighten my taicho? You think that because his mental state is the way that it is, that he will be a good target... a child to terrorize."

"No." The man placed his hands into his pockets as he glared at the man. "I don't give a crap about you Shinigami. I'm not someone who would go around terrorizing kids."

"You had no qualms fighting him."

"That's different. He had spunk as he fought too. I've got service hours to do, so I figure the best thing to do is to make it up to him by helping out around here."

"Service hours?" Rangiku's voice rose. "I want you to leave."

"They said I could pick the service hours I want."

"I don't care what they said! I don't want you of all people near my taicho."

"Seriously... he's not yours." The man stood up and began to walk away. "I'm not going to give up."

Rangiku felt as if someone had stabbed her multiple times. "I'll speak with them. I won't... I'll make sure you stay way. The man disappeared and she stepped into the room. The ice crunched and even shattered under her feet. She couldn't see her small taicho in the room, but knew full well that he happened to be there. The only place he could be was under the bed. She leaned over and peeked under the bed as her breath formed a fog. "Taicho?"

The boy's eyes focused on her. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing ended up coming out.

Her hand reached out to grab his hand. "He's gone taicho. You can come out. Let's get your room defrosted."

The boy blinked a couple of times before sliding out from underneath the bed. He sat down on the bed with his hands falling to his side as Rangiku went about making the room warm again. She watched as his breath came in hearty puffs. "What did he want Matsumoto?"

"What did he want?" Rangiku swallowed. "Don't worry. He won't be bothering you again."

"Matsumoto. Don't treat me like a child. He had to have wanted something from me. Actually... what is he doing out. Matsumoto..."

"I said don't worry about it."

Toshiro looked at the ground. "Are all the Quincy being let off?"

"Apparently."

"What do you mean apparently."

"There is some kind of stipulation for him about service hours." She watched as the boy's face twisted up in confusion. "He's supposed to be doing service hours. He mentioned some kind of nonsense about using his service hours to make it up to you. I told him to go away."

Toshiro turned his head slightly to the side. "Rangiku. He isn't going to go away simply because you asked him to. He's also stronger then you are. Don't put up with a fight with him."

"I will not back down. Not if it means something happening to you taicho."

"Matsumoto..." The boy took a deep breath. "What am I going to do if I loose you?"

Rangiku blinked a couple of times. "What..."

"You heard what I said."

The woman smiled. "I heard what you said. It's just..." The woman took a deep breath. "Ever since this You've been saying a lot of things that I never expected you to say taicho." She watched as the boy's face contorted with a look of hurt. "It's not a bad thing. The fact you're saying these things shows me that you're growing up."

"It doesn't feel like I'm growing up. Not when..."

Rangiku watched as the boy paused. "Taicho... is this about the fact you haven't been able to leave your room."

"Kurosaki is coming back? Right?" The boy leaned back onto the palm of his hands.

"Ichigo is coming back. You honstly don't have to worry about this."


	27. Paper Cuts

**Finding Friendship  
><strong>_**Paper Cuts**_

Many of the female students didn't know what the pink haired child was talking about when she announced they were doing crafts. The pink haired child pulled out powders that sparkled and caught their interest which in turn made them stay. Hana walked over tugging at Inaba's sleeve. Her brown eyes were wide with curiosity as well. They both sat down near the table and watched not at all sure what was supposed to be done with the items on the table.

The pink haired child went to work cutting away at the colored papers and folding things. A few of the girls picked up the glitter and turned it over to examine what the item was. None of them knew hat it was used for. Hana watched as one of the boys putted around with a tea set and a cup of tea was placed in front of everyone. Inaba was fine taking a cup of tea, but still eyed the entire craft warily. He took a deep breath before taking a deep breath.

A bowl was placed in the center of the table with objects wrapped in different kinds of papers. The girl with pink hair reached out and unwrapped one and popped it into her mouth. Hana reached out for one of the treats. She stopped shortly reaching into the bowl. One of the boy's who remained reached in for a handful and set it in front of him before opening one up and popping it into his mouth. She reached in and pulled out one of the items as did a few girls. She placed one in her mouth.

Two brown eyes widened in surprise. "This is sweet."

Inaba reached out then and picked out one of the items. He turned it over and over with a look of worry on his face. "Exactly what is this?"

"Candy!' The pink haired child smiled and rose her hand into the air. The other children flinched at her hyper personality.

"Candy?" Inaba frowned. "This doesn't look like any of the sweets I'm familiar with."

A silence fell over the room as they looked at the girl. The one serving tea blinked a couple of times before speaking up. "I forgot. Those of you out in the Rukongai haven't ever had Western sweets before?"

"Are they from the Western part of Japan?" Hana's eyes widened.

"No..." One of the girls spoke up as if she knew what she was talking about. "They're sweets from outside of the country of Japan."

"China Kumiko-chan?" Two brown eyes blinked a couple of times again.

"No... even farther then that. The nobles have quite a few luxurious from these countries."

"Please stop rubbing in the fact you're a member of the Akimoto nobl clan," one of the girls snapped.

"Now, now!" Miki shook her head at the two girls as Inaba unwrapped the treat and popped it into his mouth.

The pink haired girl cut out the paper and began to glue items on it before holding up. "It's a crown."

The girls still looked at her in confusion. She then set out making another one of these _crafts_. The other girl cut some more papers and held it out. "Snowflake!" A few minutes later she shows them something they were familiar with. "Flower."

The flowers had paper petals with glitter attached. Hana blinked a couple of times while one of the other girls spoke up. "So... we can make anything we want?"

"That's the point of crafts."

Hana looked at the colored papers wondering what she would choose to create from them. She decided to finally settle on making the cherry flowers, only to find herself frowning as she couldn't make the flowers nice like she wanted them to be while the girl in sixth year was able to create very accurate flowers. Eventually the club ended and she found herself heading back to the academy with a smile on her face while Inaba followed close behind.

Honzo passed by the two. "I don't know why you stayed. That meeting was ridiculous."

The young female blinked a couple of times. "I had fun."

Inaba frowned. "I'm heading back to my dorm. You should likely do the same."

Hana turned and headed towards the dorms of the first years. She sat down on her bed while a few of the other students looked up at her. "How come you ended up being picked for the club and not everyone else?"

"That sounds like the question Kawasawa-kun asked of Terunori-kun."

One of the other girls shook her head. "We shouldn't have said anything out loud."

"We're gossiping in front of her though."

"I heard from Kawasawa-kun that the club isn't that good of a club."

"It was a lot of fun. We did something called crafts." Hana watched as the girls looked at her with strange looks on their faces. She set her paper flowers onto the bed. "Of course... Hashi-san did much better then me."

One of the girls came over. "Are those sakura flowers?"

"They're supposed to be. As I said... Hashi-san did them better."

"I'm not sure what the point of the club is. I mean... if they're not picking people based on the upper parts of the class then they must have picked it for a certain reason."

"I just know that I had a good time."

"But that's not what being a Shinigami is about."

The small pink haired blurs arms were filled with a ton of crafts as she sped away from the club and headed to the tenth division. Rangiku was busy working on her paperwork when the young female started accusing her of grounding the young captain of the tenth division. She didn't see the amused expressions on the division members faces as Yachiru put forth what she thought. Placated she ended up speeding to was the forth division where she sped into the rooms of Ikkaku and Yumichika. "Hello baldy! Hello Yum-Yum!"

The two men started at her with wide eyes before Ikkaku let out a sound of irritation. "Why are you here?"

Yachiru jumped up to the bed the man was on and placed the sparkly crown upon the man's head. "I brought baldy a crown so his baldy head doesn't look so baldy."

"I'm not bald!"

"You don't have any hair on your head baldy! That means you're bald!" Yachiru laughed and bounced over to Yumichika where she dumped the flowers she had made int his lap. "I made Yum-Yum flowers because I know he likes pretty things."

She held the snowflake in her hands and frowned. "I'd give this to aniki... but he's sick."

"Sick?" One of Ikkaku's eyebrows rose up. "Hitsugaya Taicho never gets sick."

"That's what I told everybody."

Yumichika frowned at the girl. "What Ikkaku means is that Hitsugaya Taicho almost never gets sick so it seems like he never gets sick."

"He's still recovering from what happened."

The fifth seats eyebrow twitched as the second seat's words. "He's still recovering? We're not allowed out until the day after tomorrow. I mean... he's the one who gave us the wounds. He was able to get away with no injury."

Ikkaku folded his arms across his chest. "You know as well as I why that is... that he is still recovering."

"I don't understand." Yachiru sat down on the edge of the bed.

"He's..." Yumichika looked at the wall.

The third seat folded his arms behind his head. "It's more of a mental injury then anything. We'll see to him and give him a good dose of medicine once we get out of here.

After the meeting was over Liltotto grabbed a handful of the candies and stuck them into her pockets before proceeding back with Meninas. The other female had created paper chains and turned them into jewelry. They arrived back at the Kuchiki estate and saw that everyone else was there except for Bambietta. Liltotto rolled her eyes towards the sky. "So she's not back yet?"

Bernice rolled her eyes at the ceiling. "Sell outs."

Meninas blinked a couple of times. "What do you mean sell outs?"

"You are making friends with the Shinigami."

"I didn't make friends. I ate snacks."

"I didn't make friends either. I made myself some cute jewelry."

"Yeah... cute."

Meninas puffed out her cheeks. "You're not telling Candace-chan that she is a sell out!"

"She came straight back.

"I guess that Bambietta is also a sell out."

"She left at the same time Candace did!" The magenta haired female puffed out her cheeks even more.

"What is she doing? I mean..." Bernice shook her head. "We should be sticking together."

"You're one to say something! You didn't even come." Liltotto snapped. "You think that we should all follow you along! We need to make a presence in order to let them know we won't stand for any..." The girl let out a string of curses. "You want us to slink into the background so they can forget about us."

"I don't see a problem with disappearing. We can regroup and come back."

"As if that has worked in the past! I'm tired of the Shinigami looking down on us. They think we're something that can be killed off. If we step out of line then that is exactly what is going to happen to us... just you wait!"

Bernice glared at her. "Are you one to talk? Unlike the rest of us you haven't lost nothing. You've always had a family... a mother... a father. You've had one of the best positions in the Sternritter. The only person who is better off position wise is Basterbine and we know that she has no parents."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Liltotto looked at Bambietta, for once glad that the girl had chosen to show up at that particular moment. The girl's violet eyes flashed with anger as she looked at Bernice. "You all know that I don't like talking about family! I hate it, hate it, hate it!"

"Come on... I was just referring to the fact Liltotto is better off because she knows who her parents are."

"I know who my parents were! I know of the position they held! Don't assume that I don't like talking about them because I don't know who they are." The girl stomped her foot. "As for why I don't like talking about them... or anything else family related... it is none of your damn business!"

Liltotto watched as the girl stormed out. She then let out a sigh before heading out after the girl. She found the violet haired girl sitting on the wooden porch and looking out at the sky. "You need to stop acting so high and might Bambi-chan."

"I've told you not to call me that."

"Not to call you Bambi-chan? It is fully in my right to call you whatever I want. Stop acting like your blood relations means anything these days."

"You're not one to talk. You constantly flaunted who your parents were in front of everyone."

"Yes. But you always acted like your parentage made you better then everyone."

"I did not! You know exactly why I had the privileges I did and it wasn't because of choice. And I don't need my parents status to prove that I'm strong unlike other people."


	28. Shifting Tides

_Note – I ended up taking a break from Finding Friendship after I made the word count for NaNoWriMo as I had a bit of writers block. The story had an issue I had to figure out. The solution was to shift the "end" for the first part to being its own part in the series._

**Finding Friendship  
><strong>_**Shifting Tides**_

An orange head of hair appeared in front of the Kurosaki household. The teen opened the front door and stepped in. "Hello... I'm home."

"Ichi-nii!" A brown haired blur came hurtling at him and he felt his sister Yuzu wrap her arms around his waist. He watched as Karen looked up and waved her hand in greeting only to turn back to her game. He looked down to see that Yuzu was completely aglow at seeing him. "How long are you going to stay? You are going to stay for awhile. I mean... you don't have a reason to go. You also have school to worry about."

Ichigo reached down and ruffled her soft hair. "Sorry Yuzu. I'll be heading back tonight."

The young teen girl pushed away and spun on her heals. "You're so mean!" She stormed over to the kitchen. "No dinner for you."

"Come on Yuzu... now you're the one being mean."

"I'm not the one whose planning on throwing away my education and future. I mean, _what_ are you going to do?"

The orange haired teen reached up and scratched the back of his head. "It's complicated. I do have some things I need to take care of."

"What kind of life can you have without a high school education... or even a college education."

Ichigo's facial features creased up in worry.

"Yuzu," Karen let out a sigh. "You're kind of being mean to Ichi-nii. He does have plans for the future. There is also something he's taking care of. Dad's in his office taking care of paperwork. I'll make sure Yuzu sets a plate for you"

The teen headed over to the clinic and headed to the office. His father was busy working away. "Hi."

Isshin looked up with a rather tired look on his face. "How is the kid doing?"

Ichigo took a deep breath. "Honestly... he isn't doing very well. We can't get him to leave the room. Ukitake and Kyoraku want him to take part in the Shinigami Kids Society. Somehow, despite the fact he didn't go to the first meeting... he ended up being named the leader of the club. I personally think it would do him some good."

"Depends..." Isshin stacked the papers. "I can't help but wonder how well that will work. Seems like a major gamble. The bigger the gamble though... the bigger the payoff they say. I know you wouldn't leave his side just like you wouldn't leave your sisters sides unless you had a reason... so what is it?"

"I'm here to take care of some things at school."

"I can take care of that."

"I also needed to let Yuzu and Karen... mostly Yuzu... know that I am all right. I also promised Toshiro I would get him some new books to read. He hasn't read anything new." Ichigo watched as his father stared at him wide eyed for a few seconds. "What? What ever is the matter?"

"Nothing. I was just thinking how much you've grown up. Each day you're more and more like..." Isshin stopped short and took a deep breath before looking away. Ichigo raised an eyebrow.

"Like who?"

"Never mind. You never met him and never will."

"You're talking about Uncle Kaien." Ichigo watched as his father froze in place.

After a few seconds the man turned back to Ichigo. "How did you find out about Kaien?"

"The tenth division office is missing an entire wall. Toshiro's photo albums ended up wrecked. I saw a picture of you with a guy who looked like you and Nanao told me who he was." Ichigo placed his hands into his pockets. "Are you going to go and visit Toshiro? You were his former taicho, so isn't he quite fond of you?"

"To be honest Toshiro is a lot more fond of you." Isshin leaned back with a small, but sad smile on his face. "People say you're like me, but that really isn't true. Most of those people didn't ever meet your uncle. I wonder if your teachers would have treated you differently if they could have seen my better half as you grew up instead of having just myself to compare to."

"You could have tried acting in a more mature manner you know." Ichigo shook his head, the corners of his lips twisting up as he tried not to laugh at his father. "You still haven't answered my question."

"Toshiro was always more attached to Kaien and Miyako. They adored him as if he was their own child. Before I left they talked constantly about adopting him as well and were making plans to do so. They were unable to have their own children."

"Still... I'm not a father figure to him. I'm also Kaien."

"No... but I expect Toshiro will start making such comparisons now that he knows you're my son. I'm not saying he'll think that you're Kaien mind you, but he will think of you as the closest thing to Kaien. That's not actually a bad thing... Kaien was a great person and you do really live up to being like him."

"You do reaize that despite the fact that is meant to be a compliment, it really isn't?"

**M**

Nanao sat at her new desk at the first division and looked over the clipboard detailing things that would need to be done before the next Shinigami Woman's Society. Her fingers tapped the desk as her mouth twisted up into a frown. Funds were not a problem, but finding a new sponsor for the club now that Unohana had passed away was another problem. The woman blinked a couple of times at the paper she just flipped to.

She carefully removed the paper and set it onto the desk, the corners of her mouth twisting up. "_The Shinigami Kid's Society... huh?"_

The female fukutaicho of the first division took a deep breath and leaned back as she folded her arms across her chest. She then picked up the form and looked at the form reading over the submission. The form was in Hanataro's hand writing and stamped with his stamp. She started to look over the form, only to see the person they had placed into the president's position. "Hitsugaya Taicho? I can't see him agreeing to that, but..."

She frowned as she continued to read. Yachiru's name was written down for vice president. The person in the position of sponsor was in fact Hanataro. Letting out a sigh she pulled out a sticky pad and set the paper down.

"Yamada _Hanataro can't be a sponsor as he is a member of the club. You also need signatures of everybody before submitting the form. If the Kid's Society can't find a sponsor in a week then see me. I'll make sure that you have at least one sponsor. I want you to try and find one on your own first._"

The woman shook her head at the paper. "_I honestly hope that this plan of Ukitake and Kyoraku ends up working. Hitsugaya Taicho participating though? He's quite busy with his duties as captain and isn't inclined towards anything he would see as childish. Did he even show up to the meeting the other day? If he didnt then..._"

A knock on the door caused her to look up. A female Shinigami stepped into the room, a frown evident on her face. Nanao let out a sigh. "Can I help you?"

"I've come to talk about the Shinigami Kid's Society."

Nanao took a deep breath. "If you're looking to be a sponsor for the club, then I suggest speaking with Yamada Hanataro of the forth division."

"Why would I..." The woman's sudden sharp tone stopped short and she shook her head. "I didn't come here to be a sponsor. I came here to ask if the Shinigami Woman's Society would help boycott the Kid's Society."

Nanao felt her entire body tense up as her eyes widened. "Boycott the Kid's Society? What ever could be wrong with said society?"

"What ever could be wrong? The fact the club is allowing Quincy into the membership."

"Do you even understand why the head taicho and Ukitake Taicho made this decision... to allow the Quincy in as members?"

The other woman visibly flinched. A silence fell over the room. "The taicho want us to forget what happened, but can we really forget what happened when so many died including the former head taicho and his fukutaicho? Or do you want us to forget that as well?"

"The reason has nothing to do with forgetting. If anything it will make people remember the war." Nanao watched as the woman looked at her in disbelief. "I know that you've formed your opinion on this already and I'm not likely to persuade you otherwise, but here is the thing. They are children. All the members of the club are."

"Shinigami aren't children and shouldn't be treated as such. The young ones entering the ranks know full well what they are getting into. This is just an act of patronizing them when they don't need it."

The female fukutaicho felt her right cheek twitch as her irritation grew. "Have you ever actually had the chance to work with one of the younger Shinigami?"

"No. I am though a member of Hitsugaya Taicho's secret fanclub – the part that has finally graduated from the academy." This statement from the other female caused Nanao to feel a sudden heavy feeling to settle in the pit of her stomach as well as an irritation in her throat. "He's been fine ever since he entered the academy. This club belittles his achievements."

"_You have no idea what you're talking about, particularly since you have never spoken with him._" Nanao wanted to say this to the woman, but choose to hold back her scathing remarks. "Secret club? Why are you bringing this club up when it is supposed to be a secret?"

The woman stared at Nanao as if the female fukutaicho had said something stupid. "The members are carefully picked during their years at the academy. They are the only students who know that Hitsugaya Taicho is a captain of the Gotei Thirteen. Despite being a secret to the students and a good portion of the Shinigami populace, it is not a secret to the head master and teachers or the upper ranks of the Shinigami. Or I thought that the upper parts were aware of this club."

"You missed my point." Nanao folded her fingers and set her hands carefully on her desk. "_Though truth be told she does have a point about us not knowing._" She continued to speak to the woman. "Plus... what does this club have to do with anything? If Hitsugaya Taicho doesn't approve of the club then he would say something. That is the way he is."

"The fact he hasn't said anything and hasn't shown up to the first meeting says exactly what his stance on the matter is."

"He didn't show..." Nanao refrained from letting out a sigh and maintained a professional composure. "_I was afraid of that._"

"He is the highest ranking youth and if he doesn't show up it means that this isn't a good thing."

"You say this without actually knowing what the situation is." The fukutaicho continued to try and keep her composure. A thought crossed her mind and she decided to speak. "Hitsugaya Taicho technically is still recovering from the war."

"Technically means he's fully recovered."

"_No... technically means that for all sakes on purposes he is fully recovered, but there are some issues that are problematic that we can't publicly state. For someone who is supposed to be a member of his fanclub you certainly know little to nothing about him._"

"I'll be taking my leave. I hope you think carefully about the Shinigami Woman's Stance on this."

"I don't have to think. I think I need to remind you that I am the _vice-_president of the club and not the _president_. The person who _happens_ to be the president is quite fine with the club, so I really can't go against her. You _do_ realize who she is? I think you need to think more carefully about the idea of a boycott and the repercussions it will have." Nanao watched as the woman left in a huff. "_This isn't good._"

**M**

The sound of dinner plates clinked as Yuzu began to clear the dinner dishes. Ichigo pushed back his chair and pulled out his phone and dialed a number on the phone. He waited patiently for the person on the other side to pick up. A smile cracked across his facial features when he heard the sound of the person on the other side. "Toshiro... I'll be heading back soon."

"Toshiro?" Yuzu's head darted up and the corners of her mouth twisted up. "You're spending more time with Toshiro then you are with us. I know he's Karin's boyfriend, but..." The girl's mouth twisted up. She then walked over and yanked the phone from Ichigo's hand. "Hello? Hi Toshiro-kun. If you want to speak to Ichi-nii then you can very well come and visit your girlfriend. He's staying the night."

The girl clicked the phone off while Yuzu handed it back. Ichigo stared unblinking at his lighter haired sister as the phone was placed in his hand. "Yuzu..."

"I don't understand why you didn't bring him with you."

"It's complicated. And he and Karin aren't dating. That's in your head." Ichigo opened up the phone. "I can't stay tonight." He watched as Yuzu's cheeks puffed out. "Seriously... I can't do anything about that."

Isshin folded his arms across his chest. "Yuzu... this is getting old."

The lighter haired twin stared at their father while Ichigo made his call. This time the voice on the other side lacked the excitement at hearing his voice and instead had a rather irritated sound. "_If you're not going to come back, then just say so. Don't bother me other wise._"

"Toshiro... ignore what Yuzu said. She wasn't thinking and didn't run by what she wanted with everyone else. I'll be back tonight, so don't worry." Ichigo heard the sound of the other person fidgeting with discomfort. The teen spoke up after a few minutes of silence. "Hey... are you still there?"

"_I'm here. I'll be all right. I mean... one night shouldn't hurt._"

"Toshiro..."

"_Asking you to come back tonight is selfish on my part. It's already quite late... and your sisters haven't seen you for awhile. I'll be fine._"

"Toshiro..."

"_It's an order Kurosaki!"_

Ichigo let out a deep sigh. "All right. Fine... I'll let you have your way. You will take your medicine though, right?"

"_My..._" A chocking sound was heard from the other side. "_I... I'll be fine. I already told you that._"

"Toshiro..."

"_It's just one more night. Plus... an order is an order. Since you 'want' to be a Shinigami, then you need to learn to obey them._"

The phone clicked off and Ichigo snapped it shut with a frown. He looked up to see his father looking at him. "What?"

"He's being stubborn, isn't he."

"Yes... he..." Ichigo's eyes drifted over to Yuzu. "Something the matter?"

"Toshiro-kun's taking medicine? He's not well?"

The orange haired teen took a deep breath. "He's not sick. The medicine is to help him sleep at night. I'm worried that he won't take it."

"Perhaps you should go... I mean... I guess I was being selfish asking you to stay. I mean... I know he's not sick, but..."

Karin stood up causing her chair to squeak. "... there is something he's not telling us. I'm going to bed."

"Go Ichi-nii. I mean..."

"That's the third time you said 'I mean'. I can't go back because Toshiro said he can handle the situation himself tonight. Even though I am worried that he'll have problems, I can't push this issue. He would feel like I'm treating him like he's a little kid and don't trust him. So don't worry about it Yuzu." This didn't stop Ichigo from worrying.


	29. Drowning Feeling

**Finding Friendship  
><strong>_**Drowning Feeling**_

The sight of a sunset normally calmed the young taicho down. The white haired youth looked up at the door to his quarters that was cracked open and began to worry his lip as the colors cast by the sunset indicated it was getting rather late. The memory of the Quincy with the Mohawk standing outside of his door flashed through his mind and he swallowed deeply in order to keep his panic at bay.

He flopped down onto the bed and placed a hand over his forehead, the palm side down. His mouth twisted up into a frown as he felt the fingers of his other hand twitch in a steady rhythm. "_When is Kurosaki going to get back?_"

"_Be patient young master._"

"_I am seriously not liking this..._"

"_This is because you're bored and aren't allowed to dive into work._"

"_I wouldn't be bored if Matsumoto sent some of the paperwork my way._" His phone rang causing him to sit up straight. His small hand reached out for his phone and a smile appeared on his face when he realized it was Ichigo calling. He flipped the phone open. "Kurosaki?" A second hand went up to hold the phone steady to his ear. "_He is coming back... right?_"

"Toshiro..." There was a slight pause on the other end. "I'll be heading back soon."

"_I'm glad... though I won't say so. He'll think it's childish. Actually... it is childish that I'm needing Kurosaki like this._" The young taicho felt his head tilt forward while his shoulders slumped. "_Still... I feel good that he is going to be coming back._"

"_Hello? Toshiro-kun._" Yuzu's sharp tone almost caused him to drop the phone onto the bed.

The young taicho's teal eyes widened. "_What is she..._"

"_If you want to speak to Ichi-nii __then you can very well come and visit your girlfriend. He's staying the night._" The phone then clicked off.

"_What just happened..." _Toshiro let the phone drop to the bed. "_Did Kurosaki lie? Was he trying to play some cruel joke._"

"_Young master... you know he wouldn't do that."_

"_Why do I feel..." _The young taicho took a deep breath as a hand reached up absentmindedly to wipe away wetness from his eye. "Crap..." Setting his palms against the bed he pushed himself back towards the head of the bed and leaned up against the head board. His head titled back. "_Seriously... I can't be crying. I've more control over my emotions then that. I'm also not an emotional basket case._"

A deep breath came out of his chest just as the phone rang again. He grabbed the phone to see who was calling. He could feel his ears heating up as well as his cheeks. Seeing Ichigo's name again caused his breath to catch and his voice to strain. "If you're not going to come back, then just say so. Don't bother me other wise." Toshiro's eyes blinked a couple of times as his chest tightened. "_Did I just..._"

"_Yes. You completely lost it young master._"

Toshiro took a deep breath as his fingers tightened. The nasty feelings wouldn't go away despite his desperation to push them away into the back of his mind. Ichigo's voice on the other hand was completely calm. "Toshiro... ignore what Yuzu said. She wasn't thinking and didn't run by what she wanted with everyone else. I'll be back tonight, so don't worry."

"_I messed up. I acted like a complete idiot and he of all people knows it._"

"_I don't think he minds._"

"_I don't care if he doesn't mind! I care that I made a complete fool of myself. I hate the fact I'm acting like such a child!_"

"_Calm down young one._"

Ichigo's voice came from the other side of the phone. "_Hey are you still there?_"

"I'm here." Toshiro swallowed and wrapped his free arm around himself in an attempt to comfort himself. "_I forgot about his sisters needing him too._" The arm wrapped tighter around himself. "I'll be all right. I mean..." There came a pause as a shiver ran down his spine. "... one night shouldn't hurt."

"_Toshiro.._"

"Asking you to come back tonight is selfish on my part." His eyes darted towards the door to see the evening sky appear. He swallowed again "It's already quite late... and your sisters haven't seen you for awhile. I'll be fine." He couldn't though shake the feeling that he wouldn't be fine as Ichigo said his name again. He fought the temptation to give in. "It's an order Kurosaki."

"_All right. Fine... I'll let you have your way. You will take your medicine though, right?_"

"My..." Toshiro's eyes darted to the nightstand where the sleeping drought was ready in case he needed. He couldn't help but gag at the thought of how it tasted as it went down. "I... I'll be fine. I already told you that." Ichigo's tone of voice shifted suddenly causing him to fidget. "It's just one more night. Plus... an order is an order. Since you 'want' to be a Shinigami, then you need to learn to obey them."

He clicked the phone shut so Ichigo wouldn't try and argue with him. Hyorinmaru's voice purred forth in an attempt to comfort only to reveal how worried the ice dragon was. "_One more night? It hasn't even been one night._"

Toshiro's body flopped onto the bed and twisted up into a ball. A sob escaped his lips only for the young taicho to bring it under control. He breathed in and out to calm himself and felt his breath come out in the form of a mist. Once he was calm he sat up again and swallowed. "_I just won't sleep again. I mean... one more night of not sleeping can't hurt._"

"_Young master..._" Hyorinmaru didn't have to say the words. The young taicho knew the dragon didn't think it was a good idea and he knew the dragon was becoming quite worried.

**M**

The door to the room remained open allowing for a view of the night sky. The starts stark white against the black sky proved calming for the young taicho. His eyelids began to drop until they slid closed. After a period of time the child taicho sat up. The teal eyes also opened half way. His limbs moved in an unfocused manner as his feet swung to the ground. He stood up and headed to the door that led to Rangiku's room, only to find it locked.

Two teal eyes looked at the doorknob while the mouth twisted up into a frown. A shuffling of feet was heard as the boy twisted around and headed to the open doorway. The child slipped over to the other door that led into Rangiku's room and tugged. The door slid open and the small taicho headed across the floor without waking the woman up, his feet pressing down.

The child sat down on the edge of the bed before lying down next to the woman. He then pushed backwards so that his back was right up against her. She still didn't wake and he stopped moving. His eyes shut and a soft snore came from the child's mouth. The door to Rangiku's room remained open from when the small taicho opened the door.

Sunlight falling on her face caused Rangiku's eyes to blink open. She moved to sit up as her mind tried to figure out why she was waking up like she was. She stopped half way in sitting up upon realizing someone was next to her. She turned her head to see the small taicho asleep next to her. "_How cute..._" Her eyes blinked a couple of times. "_Nope. I've got to put my foot down. He's not little anymore._"

She shook the boy's shoulder. A grumble was heard from the young taicho as he turned slightly to bury his face into the bedding. "Taicho... wake up."

She shook his shoulders some more and watched as his eyes blinked open. He then sat up next to her in a rather groggy manner. One hand reached up and tugged on her sleeve. "Matsumoto..."

"What?"

"Good morning."

"_So like Gin!_" Haineko purred at the back of her head.

"_You're an annoyance._" Rangiku's hand reached out and stopped Toshiro from tugging at her sleeve. "Taicho... are you supposed to be in my room?_" _Another sound came from the boy's lips. He shook his head as if he didn't want to answer her question. "Taicho... where is Ichigo?"

"He's..." The boy blinked a couple of times. "Kurosaki household."

"He left you alone?"

"He was going to come back. His sister was mad though. I told him... no... ordered him to stay."

"Taicho!"

The woman watched as the child taicho flinched at the increase of volume for her voice. Another sound came as he swung his feet over. "If I didn't... that would be selfish."

"Taicho..." Rangiku shook her head. "He knows that you struggle to sleep properly without another person or the sleeping drought."

"He..." The boy swallowed and tried to look away. "He was under the impression that I would take my medicine."

"Taicho..."

"I'm sorry. He'll only be gone for today. Why can't I sleep with you?"

Rangiku felt her breath draw short. "You know why. I shouldn't have to explain it." She stood up and tugged at his shoulders. "Come on... you need to go back to your room." She watched as the child followed her in a groggy manner only to flinch a few feet from the door. She continued to push. "Taicho..."

"No..."

"Please..."

She watched as his small foot almost crossed the door frame only to see him dart backwards. She turned to see him cowering on the floor with his head buried in his knees and his arms wrapped tightly around himself. She moved forward and sat down next to him. One arm carefully wrapped around his shoulders before pulling him closer.

She watched as his limbs began to relax. After a few minutes she pulled him into her lap and began to rock him slightly. His body finally relaxed and he leaned into her. "This is stupid..."

Rangiku blinked a couple of times at his condensing tone. She then looked down at him to see the frustration plastered on his face. His limbs remained limp as he remained there. "By stupid you mean..."

"You know what I mean. The fact I need to be coddled like a little kid."

"I don't mind. I like the fact you need me."

"Yeah... right." Toshiro pushed himself away so that he was sitting next to her looking at the door. "Exactly what am I to do now."

"What do you mean? You can get back to your room using the door between our rooms."

"It's not off limits?"

"My room is off limits, but not the door between our rooms for getting out." Rangiku continued to sit next to the boy.

"Can I have some paperwork?"

"Paper..." Rangiku shook her head. "Today's the next..." She let out a deep breath. "Actually... no point in insisting you go to the meeting. Not if you are unable to leave your own room." A silence fell over the room. "You know... I'm as frustrated with this as you are."

"Why wouldn't you be? I'd imagine that you are even more frustrated having to babysit me." Toshiro pulled one leg up to his chest and set his chin on his knee.

The woman swallowed suddenly. "_Funny how I'm always finding myself babysitting him. I wish I could make him understand that it isn't that big of a deal._"

"_While it may not be a big deal to you or me it is a big deal to him. So's this inability to step outside of his own room. No... it's more like he can't step outside._"

The fukutaicho of the tenth division let out a deep breath. "I don't mind. My frustration comes from the fact I can't do anything for you despite the fact I really want to. Taicho... do you have any idea why you're struggling to step outside."

Toshiro's teal eyes widened as he leaned into his arm. He then shook his head at the woman. "No... I haven't an idea.


	30. Deepening Darkness

**Finding Friendship  
><strong>_**Deepening Darkness**_

The sound of an irate stuffed animal woke Ichigo up just as _said_ creature jumped on him. His arm swung to knock the stuffed animal away causing Kon to hit the wall with a resounding thump. The orange haired teen sat up then and began to pack himself a bag. A few changes of clothes went into the bag as well as the books he felt Toshiro would like.

The smell of breakfast cooking greeted him as he went down the stairs. Yuzu bustled about. The corners of his mouth twisted up. "I really can't stay and eat. I want to get back to see how Toshiro is doing."

The small female blinked a couple of times. "I figured as much. I prepared a breakfast for you to take with you. There are also a couple of bento for you and Toshiro. Please tell him I'm sorry for insisting you stay the night. I honestly didn't know."

The corners of Ichigo's mouth turned down. "It wasn't something you should have ended up knowing. This should have remained between me and Toshiro really."

"I know that too. That's the other reason I'm sorry. Could you tell him he's always welcome here?"

"I'll tell him... though I think he already knows that. There are other things going on though." Ichigo grabbed the package Yuzu had prepared for him and headed on his way. The journey to Soul Society was uneventful, and things were quiet when he arrived through the gate. He opened the package to see the simple breakfast Yuzu had made him so that he could eat on the run. In addition to this was the set of bento she had promised along with some special treats.

He unwrapped the first rice ball before proceeding back to the tenth division. By the time he finished his breakfast was finished. He continued to smile as a certain thought crossed his mind. "_It's too quiet. Whenever it is this quiet something always happens... or has happened._"

The orange haired teen took a deep breath before he stepped through the door to Toshiro's room. The young Shinigami sat in one cover of the room with his arms wrapped around his knees. A deep frown was plastered across the boy's face as he stared. "Toshiro?"

Toshiro's two teal eyes blinked a couple of times. "Kurosaki?"

"How did things go?"

"Fine..." Silence fell over the room as the corners of Ichigo's mouth twisted down.

After a few minutes he had enough. "Toshiro... you aren't acting like you're fine."

"Sorry... I think it was an automatic response."

"Care to tell me what's the matter? It's not like you to admit that something is wrong... at least not without a fight."

"I don't know really know. I mean, I don't know why I'm admitting that things aren't fine like this." Toshiro's limbs relaxed and fell to his side. Silence remained for a few minutes. "I snuck into Matsumoto's room last night."

Ichigo blinked a couple of times. "Toshiro... didn't you take your medicine? You know... that sleeping drought?"

"It tastes yucky."

The orange haired teen sighed. "Yes... but... look what happened when you didn't take it. Actually... how did you get in? Her door was locked."

"The door between our rooms is locked. Her door to the outside was left unlocked."

"How? You've not gone outside except.." Ichigo looked at the ceiling for a few seconds before changing steam. "...for when you sleep walk. How'd you get back in."

"She unlocked her door."

The teen sighed. "You going to play video games."

"No... I need to think. Not that it will help me." The boy's forehead wrinkled up and his mouth twisted into a deeper frown. "Actually... could you do me a favor?"

"The answer is no if you want me to orchestrate you receiving paperwork."

"No... could you help Matsumoto today? Do what ever errands she wants?"

Ichigo titled his head slightly. "What about you?"

"I need... to be honest I need to start... I don't know how to put it, but I need to work towards... something. I need to do it on my own."

"All right." Ichigo unwrapped the package that Yuzu had given him. "My sister is sorry for what she said. She sent you a bento for lunch as well as some snacks. I'll leave them here for you on the bed."

**M**

The day began with the sun rising up and lighting up the Seireitei with a warm glow. Bambietta awoke early in the morning and stretched her arms up. She blinked a couple of times before looking around to see that the other girls weren't up yet. She stood up and headed to the washroom before coming back. A butterfly flitted across her sight and she paused in her walking step to watch.

Her mood at first felt light as she watched the creature flit around, but then a feeling deep down began to well up. "_How come it gets to live it's life out so care free and happy?_"

The temptation to blow the insect up crossed her mind, but something held her back long enough for the creature to escape. She let out a sigh and headed back to the room in order to change out of her nightclothes. Berenice woke up and stared at her as the corners of her mouth twisted up. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing. I don't really have anything to do until the meeting this afternoon."

Bernice narrowed her eyes. "There is no point in going. The Shinigami you know don't care for us. We'll all be in the same lot were were before, except worse. That's how much they don't care."

"I'm going because I have nothing else to do."

"That would be because you can't blow up things randomly anymore. Seriously... if that is your issue just find something else to occupy your time."

"It's really not any of your business." Bambietta headed over to her corner to sulk again while the other girls began to wake up. After awhile her boredom got the better of her and she went to the outside of the Kuchiki clan estate and stomped her way around the edge. Various servants looked at her only to skitter off when she paused to glare at them.

She arrived back at the entrance to see Rukia waiting for her. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing." Bambietta continued to stomp her way back to the room where she sulked in her corner until it was time to head to the meeting. Berenice of course didn't choose to go with them and Candace choose to stay behind siting there was no point as there were no points to the meetings. They arrived at the forth division to find themselves stopping short.

A group of people were outside the entrance to the forth division waving signs around. Liltotto and Meninas froze upon seeing the signs as well as hearing the calls for them to go home and not participate in the meetings. Bambietta frowned at them and held up a finger. "A well placed..."

"Don't. Antagonizing them will only prove their point that we don't belong." Liltotto frowned at the Bambietta and tried looking away from the Shinigami protesting.

"We don't belong though." Meninas' lip curled up.

"Well... I'm not going to let them get the better of me. You girls shouldn't either." Bambietta began her stomping act again and walked right up to the entrance and stomped right in. The protesters stopped long enough to watch her act while Meninas and Liltotto followed behind. The other two Quincy girls looked at the protesters nervously as the canter for their removal started back up.

A young Shinigami with brown hair bustled around the meeting room. He stopped short upon realizing that the girls had come in. "I apologize for the gathering at the front gates. Isane's not sure what to do about them. We don't have a taicho anymore. On one side they have the right to say what they want to say, but on the other side they are causing a ruccus and voicing an unfair bias."

"Or are you not doing anything about it because you don't care?" Liltotto snapped as she sat down in her chair. "Seriously... I'm not sure if this is even worth the snacks. They were quite rude."

"Were they?" Meninas blinked a couple of times. "I didn't think they were. I mean... we did cause them a lot of problems."

"That doesn't mean we should go die."

Bambietta blinked a couple of times. "I don't recollect saying that. If they had I wouldn't have been able to hold back."

"They didn't say it... but they sure thought it." Liltotto folded her arms around her chest.

A pink blur hurtled in and stood on the chair. Today she was dressed in a bunny suit from head to toe. "Today we're going to play a game! I want to play ayatori!"

Liltotto frowned at the girl. "That's a game that can only be played by one person. Also... shouldn't the president be picking the game, not you?"

"Aniki isn't going to be here today."

"What do you mean?" Bambietta blinked a couple of times.

"She said he's still not feeling good."

"Yeah... he wants to avoid us. He'll likely avoid us until those boycotting us succeed." Liltotto rolled her eyes.

"He..." Bambietta stood up. "I'm not staying."

Yachiru frowned. "You don't want to play?"

"No... I don't want to play." The small female stormed out of the room.

**M**

Ikakku pulled on his uniform as a scowl spread across his face. "About time they let us out. Seriously... they've let others out sooner."

Yumichika raised an eyebrow. "One of your legs was being treated after being frozen. You know full well you're very lucky you didn't lose the leg. You're still under orders to take things slow."

Ikkaku tucked his hands under his armpits. The upper part of his uniform hung over his shoulders. "I'll be fine."

The third seat of the eleventh division headed out, stopping short outside of a room where a group of children were meeting. The two Quincy children who were sitting at the chairs suddenly startled upon seeing the two men as did the children they didn't recognize as being Shinigami. Yachiru's bunny hoody was down over her shoulders. Her head popped up. "Hello Baldy! Hello Yum-yum!"

"Are you the president of the Shinigami Kid's Society?"

"No! Aniki is!"

Ikkaku's mouth twisted up into a frown. "Where is he? If he is the president, then he should be here?"

"He's sick."

"Really?" Yumichika shook his head. "I think we should go and get him."

The fifth seat turned away and started off while Ikkaku looked at the children. He followed after Yumichika to the entrance. "The numbers seem to be small."

The sound of protesting could be heard outside of the entrance to the forth division. Ikkaku's facial features twisted up as he looked at the protestors. Something caused him to look away for a short period of time. He thought he caught a glimpse of orange hair, but shook it off. "Hey... what is this all about."

The mummers came about not wanting to have anything to do with the Quincy. There were also mummers about the young taicho of the tenth division not participating. Yumichika rolled his eyes into the back of his head. "Seriously?" After he got out of earshot he said something else. "I can't disagree with their sentiment in regards to Hitsugaya Taicho not participating. That has a negative effect and may cause this plan of theirs to fold."

"That is concerning. I'm not sure how I like dealing with an upset fukutaicho if this doesn't work out. It's also concerning that he is avoiding everyone."

"He doesn't want to face us because of what he did."

"Really? That's not like him." The two arrived at the tenth division and looked around for the small taicho. One of the Shinigami stopped short upon seeing them. "If you're looking for Matsumoto Fukutaicho, she's in the offices working on the paperwork. If you're looking for Kurosaki Ichigo... he's out running errands for her."

One of Yumichika's eyebrows went up. "Wait... what about Hitsugaya Taicho?"

"Hitsugaya Taicho? He's in his quarters. He's not left them since he came back from the forth division."

The two men from the eleventh division looked at each other with looks of confusion on their faces as the member of the tenth division scurried off to continue taking care of their own duties. Ikkaku scratched his head while Yumichika's mouth twisted up. The two headed over where they knew Toshiro's quarters were only to run into a familiar face.

"You..." Ikkaku's finger went up to point at the male. "What are you doing here?"

The male blinked a couple of times. "Oh... I'm here to play with Toshiro... though he's honestly not in the mood today."

"Play?" Yumichika's facial features twitched around his nose.

Ikkaku scowled at the male Fullbringer. "Hitsugaya Taicho doesn't play."

"Doesn't mean he can't be made to play." The boy hurried off then before Ikkaku could grab the young Fullbringer to get more information.

Ikkaku scratched his head and stepped over to the door and looked in. He at first didn't see the young taicho. Instead he saw the bento and package of treats on the bed. He then saw the boy in a corner with his arms wrapped around his knees. "Hitsugaya Taicho?"

The young taicho looked up, his bright teal eyes wide with confusion. "Madarame... is Ayasegawa with you?"

Ikkaku's companion let out a sigh and stepped around his friend. "Why wouldn't I be with him? We're always together. You should know that. You're needed you know."

The two watched as a look of horror spread across the boy's face. Ikkaku folded his arms across his chest. "What ever is the matter?"

They watched as Toshiro looked away, the look on his face indicating he didn't care. His voice though said that he didn't believe his own words. "Nothing..."

Yumichika let out a sigh and walked over to Toshiro. "We don't have time for this." The man reached down to grab the child taicho's arm. "There are people outside the forth division protesting the Shinigami Kids Association. They're using the fact you're not participating as one of their justifications."

"Wait..." The young taicho's voice strained as the fifth seat of the eleventh division pulled him up and towards the door. "I can't..."

"It isn't as if you're doing anything else. You've left the running of your division to your fukutaicho... not that I think that is a good idea." Yumichika pulled Toshiro past Ikkaku.

"That..." Toshiro flinched as he began to move past the doorway. His small body moved to dart back into the room only to find that Yumichika wasn't going to let go that easily. A pain in throbbed in his shoulder from having twisted the way he had. His hands reached out to grip his doorway and he put all of his energy into gripping the door frame. His breath became heavy and his sight began to blur.

Yumichika's facial features twisted up with frustration. "Ikkaku... help me!" The third seat let out a sigh and stepped over to Yumichika. Instead of loosening the young taicho's grip he moved to loosen his friends grip. "Ikkaku! What was that for?"

"What was that for?" Ikkaku's head turned to watch the young taicho scurry over to the bookshelf and collapse to the floor. The boy buried his head into his arms. "What is the point?"

The fifth seat felt the corner of his mouth twitch. He twisted his head to the side with a quick movement and let out a sound of disgust. "Pathetic." He turned to leave only to realize his friend wasn't following him. "Ikkaku?"

He turned to see the third seat of the eleventh division move over to where the young taicho was and move down to sit down next to the young taicho. Yumichika moved back into the room and crossed his arms and waited patiently. The young taicho's head finally tilted up slightly and Ikkaku spoke to the young taicho. "Tell me something. You're not staying in your room because you feel guilty for what you did to Yumichika and I?"

Toshiro's head moved then so that his chin was resting on his arms. "I wish. I know that wasn't my fault. Do you and Ayasegawa blame me? I wouldn't blame you."

"I don't blame you. You wouldn't have attacked us if you were ourselves. Right?" Ikkaku looked at his companion.

Yumichika let out a sigh as his facial features softened. "No. As pissed off as I am at the damage you caused the fact remains you weren't the one in control." The fifth seat took a deep breath. "Hitsugaya Taicho... are you afraid of leaving your own room?"

"I guess fear is a good way to describe my problem." The boy then said something that surprised both of the adults. "I'm also well aware of the fact my not being able to step outside is a problem. I'm sorry that I'm such a failure right now, but I find myself unable to do anything about it."

Ikkaku stood up with his arms crossed. "Don't worry about it. Yumichika and I will do our best to help out the Shinigami Kids Society until you are able to come out."

Yumichika watched Ikkaku leave. "How?"

"How many people will want to protest outside of the eleventh division. The next meeting will be held at our place."

"I'm not sure if that is a good idea..."


	31. Eyes Pool and Mirror

**Finding Friendship  
><strong>_**Eyes Pool and Mirror**_

"_I don't understand why you are so upset._"

The voice in the back of Bambietta's head wouldn't stop nagging at her as she stomped her way . "_I'm not upset._"

"_Yes you are. You're still mad at your brother for not showing up at the meeting on Monday. You're now mad that he didn't show up at the meeting today. What I don't understand is why you are so upset."_

"_Why? He's my brother?_'"

"_Didn't I already say that he doesn't know what you're thinking? Plus... how long has it been since the two of you saw each other._"

"_Who said I'm blaming him? I'm blaming the Shinigami._"

"_Says the girl who wanted to blow up the protestors both when she went in and when she went out. You really need to act more like a lady. You have no feminine charm._"

Bambietta found herself stomping into the room she shared with the other girls. Candace and Bernice looked up in an attempt to figure out what was bothering her. Both made it clear they felt it was nothing to bother with before going back to their own sulking. She proceeded to stomp over to her corner to sulk. She didn't notice when Meninas and Liltotto returned. Her head turned slightly when she overheard the other girls talking about the protest, but soon returned to sulking into her corner until dinner was brought.

After dinner was fixed she found herself changing for bed and stomping around to annoy the other girls before climbing into the futon to bury her head. She awoke the next morning and continued to sulk into her corner as the voice continued to chat away about random things as well as the subjects she didn't want to think about. She finally slapped her hands down. "That does it."

She stood up as the other girls watched. Liltotto watched as she left while a piece of food hung from her mouth. "Anybody going to stop her? We already have enough problems as it is without her going berserk on us.

Bernice rolled her eyes. "I want her to do something. Things are honestly way to boring around here. I'm surprised she's held her cool for this long. I've not known her to go a day without blowing something up."

The purple haired Quincy continued to stomp and disturb everyone around her. She finally arrived at the tenth division and caused the members of the tenth division to stare at her as she went along. For some reason the orange haired female stuck her head out of from the office and folded her arms across her chest. "All right... what are you doing here?"

Bambietta twisted around and stomped each foot firmly without letting her powers loose. The young female didn't know how much longer she could take it. "It's none of your business old lady!"

"Excuse me?"

The purple haired female pointed her finger at the fukutaicho at the tenth division. "You Shinigami! You can't trust us. You suspect that we're going to do something stupid! You're afraid we'll undo the brainwashing you've done to them!"

"Them?"

"The kidnapped Quincy!" The woman blinked a couple of times before letting out a sigh. The other members of the division who were around chuckled in amusement. Bambietta stomped her foot and twisted around to glare at the Shinigami. "Shut up!"

"What kidnapped Quincy?" The woman shook her head.

Bambietta waved her finger at the woman. "Don't play like you don't know!"

"We didn't kidnap you. Is your intention to cause problems for me?"

"As if I want anything to do with an old hag!"

The corners of the woman's mouth twitched. The woman then stomped over to the young girl and grabbed her by the back of her uniform. With a tug Bambietta found herself being drug to the front gate. She was pushed out of the place and the division gates were slammed on her. The girl turned and stomped her foot. "I hate you, you..."

A few of the people passing by paused as the string of curses left the girls mouth. She then stomped around the edge. She stopped when she felt her brother's spiritual pressure from the other side of the wall. She could also hear his voice. "Look... I'm really not in the mood for doing anything."

A smile spread across her face as she pulled up her sleeves. She used Hirenkyaku to propel herself over the wall. A smile spread across her face as she looked towards where she knew her brother was located, only to find her smile faltering. Standing near the boy was a blond haired male with a strange feeling coming off of him. She felt the corner of her mouth twitch as the blond haired youth spoke with her brother. "Come on. As I said... I came by yesterday to try and get you to play."

"You!" Bambietta pointed her finger at the blond. Both males looked up at her. The blond simply stared with a look that showed he was far from amused. Her brother on the other hand blinked a few times as he looked at the girl. "You're a tainted one! You're disgusting?"

"Tainted one?" Her brother blinked a couple of times in confusion. "What is..."

"Great... it's a Quincy."

"That does it! I've had enough!" Her fingers went up and she tossed a few well placed orbs at the blond haired male.

**M**

The next day the young Shinigami insisted that Ichigo go and help Rangiku again and run certain errands. Ichigo frowned knowing something had happened while he was gone despite the fact Toshiro insisted that he was all right. The child taicho had gone from being open about his feelings to locking up again. Toshiro had also picked at the food Yuzu had sent him.

He remained there for a good portion of the morning with the routine he had gotten into of starting at the wall when Yukio came back that morning to try and convince him to play some games. "You can't just mope in your room doing nothing you know."

"I can if I want to." The boy took a deep breath. "Look... I'm not really in the mood for doing anything."

"Come on. As I said... I came by yesterday to try and get you to play."

"You! You're a tainted one! You're disgusting!"

Toshiro blinked a couple of times as his attention was drawn to the female Quincy now standing outside of his room. "_Why is she here?_" As he voiced his confusion he heard Yukio make a comment as well. The girl made a move and there was a glow at the tip of her fingers. "_Something isn't right..._"

The young taicho moved then and pulled the young Fullbringer behind him just in time for one orb to hit the sleeve of his uniform and another his shoulder. He felt a tingling feeling at his cheek then realized that his clothes were exploring. He found himself blinking a couple of times as his head turned to look at the burn marks on his arm and shoulder. "_She attacked me!_"

"_Actually... young master... she tried attacking your friend. You simply got in the way as you decided to play a hero._"

"_She..._" Toshiro's jaw dropped as she looked at the girl, the feelings welling up as he looked at her. His vision began to blur and his throat tightened as he moved to grab his blade from the corner he had been moping in.

He drew the blade while Yukio backed off. "I'm not getting involved. This is going to get messy."

"You!" One hand fidgeted at the clothing that was trying to fall off of his body. The girl's violet eyes widened and a sickening feeling that her eyes mirrored his own hit the pit of his stomach. He swung Hyorinmaru at her as she dodged his attack. He watched her land on the roof. The sickening feeling that her eyes mirrored his grew as he saw the girl narrow her eyes at him.

The ice had traveled to the right of where she was standing and would have missed her, but Toshiro didn't seem to notice. Some strange feeling came over him and his foot moved forward without realizing it. The sickening feeling that her eyes mirrored his grew as he saw the girl narrow her eyes at him. The girl flicked her fingers and the orbs headed straight to his feet.

He found himself moving then, quickly shunpooing out of the room without realizing it while Yukio went farther back. His stomach felt butterflies as he moved along the side of the building and swung his blade again. The ice slid up towards the roof nearly missing her again just as more orbs came his way.

**M**

Ukitake took a deep breath as he looked over the papers in his division. Rukia stood in front of him with a frown on her face. "I take it isn't going well with the girls?"

"They're bored to death. They don't dare ask for anything as they fear what we'll say."

"Your brother's men... or I should say women... happened to have gathered everything left from what we believe to be their quarters. Tomorrow afternoon would be a good time to bring them back."

Rukia frowned. "Taicho... I also think it might be a good idea for each of the girls to have their own room, perhaps each have a separate guardian that is tailored to them."

Ukitake's eyebrows rose up. "That isn't a bad idea. One of the main problems with this is figuring out who would be the best person to pair each of the Quincy children up with. There are two boys as well. They're currently undergoing special procedures at the twelfth division. Kurotsuchi swears that he hasn't turned them into some kind of tool and has only done things to help them live normal lives. Anyways... we need to get to know the children better before we place them with a foster parent."

The young fukutaicho nodded her head only to stop short. "Taicho... is something else bothering you?"

"Yes. I'm actually worried about..." Ukitake's eyes widened as he felt the flaring of rieatsu. "... oh dear."

Rukia's mouth twisted up into a frown. "Isn't that Hitsugaya Taicho? I can't place the other rieatsu despite the fact it feels familiar."

"That would be one of the young Quincy."

"Should I go and handle it? From what I've heard Hitsugaya Taicho has been under a lot of stress."

"No. I'll handle this. I have a feeling about what is going on." Ukitake watched as a worried expression passed across Rukia's face. "Oh... don't worry. I can handle this. I sense that Kyoraku Taicho is moving towards the area as well. I'm quite sure that Ran-chan is heading to the area as well."

The man stood up and headed through the door, his movement swift. His eyes widened upon seeing the destruction the two children had caused. He shunpooed over to Toshiro's side and grabbed the child's arm as he attempted to swing the sword. The older taicho's facial features twisted up into a frown. "Stop, the two of you."

The look on the young taicho's face was wild with a wide range of emotions – frustration, animosity and something else that Ukitake couldn't place. The man turned his head to see how Kyoraku Taicho would handle the young taicho's sister. He saw a kido fly from down below instead of seeing the head taicho. The Rikujokora sealed the girl up so that her arms were pinned to her side.

A flash then appeared near him and he saw the rather irate fukutaicho of the tenth division glaring at her small taicho. Ukitake watched as her hand went back so that her palm slapped across his cheek with a resounding smack. The woman then got down lower and pulled the boy into her arms and held him tightly. "Taicho... you silly child."

The slap caused the purple haired Quincy to bust into a string of curses while Kyoraku shunpooed next to her. "Now, now... that isn't a very lady like thing to do... to speak like that."

As the head taicho's hat titled down, the girl fell silent.

**M**

Things in the tenth division offices went smoothly. Things went smoothly despite the fact her small taicho wasn't around doing his duties. Toshiro's request that Ichigo help was a rather smart move on her part. She didn't like when the young female showed up and began to act in a very childish manner. She didn't think it was any kind of big deal due to the fact she had kicked the girl out and closed the doors behind her.

It was then that she felt her small taicho's spiritual pressure going off. Her mind went blank when she felt the familiar feeling as she had felt it come from outside of his room. She shook her head only to feel his reiatsu flare a few more times as well as another reiatsu mixed in. "She didn't..."

"_Why shouldn't you be surprised that she did that?_"

"_Why? Because you kicked her out. That girl is as stubborn as your small taicho._"

"_Don't compare that brat with my cute taicho!"_

"_If only you understood what you were actually saying..._"

Rangiku let out a sigh and shunpooed away. She launched the kido at the girl to prevent the young Quincy from harming her small taicho. She didn't notice that the attacks of either child kept missing. She then looked up at her small taicho and saw that Ukitake had showed up and grabbed the boy's wrist. The look on his face sent chills down her spine. The next thing she knew she was slapping the boy only to pull him into her arms.

She looked at the girl as she held her small taicho close. "Could you please keep those Quincy away from him?"

Ukitake took a deep breath while Kyoraku kept his hat tilted down. "Ran-chan... he's going to be interacting with them in the Shinigami Kid's Society."

"I know that. You know what I meant as well. They don't need to be antagonizing him."

Another deep breath came from Ukitake's mouth. "We'll talk to the girl."

The two men began to cart the girl off. Rangiku looked at her small taicho to see that he was peeking out at the girl. Something still bothered her about the look in his eyes.


	32. Broken Chains

**Finding Friendship  
><strong>_**Broken Chains**_

The young female sat at the table with her hands cuffed in front of her. Her purple eyes glared at the two adults. Ukitake sat down. "Why did you attack?"

"There was a tainted one there."

"What is..."

"They're a child whose mother was tainted and they were born afterward."

"Fullbringer then."

"No... tainted ones."

Kyoraku let out a sigh. "Do you remember when we first introduced you to Hitsugaya Taicho?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Ukitake watched as the girl turned her head away. He tried smiling at her to make her feel more comfortable. "We asked you if you recognized your companion."

The girl turned her head back to look at them, her purple eyes suddenly filled with disgust. "It is none of your buisness."

"I think it is. The Gotei Thirteen is after all the legal guardian of both you children." Kyoraku's words caused the girl to flinch. The head taicho leaned back and looked at his companion.

The white man let out a deep sigh. "We probably should have started off with introductions. This is the head taicho Kyoraku Shunsui. I'm Ukitake Jushiro."

"Jushiro?" The girls eyes brightened up. The glee she suddenly felt left her face as she twisted her head and folded her arms across her chest. "Not that I care."

"Well... I guess I should bring up the fact we know you and he are siblings."

A look of horror crept over her face. They watched as the girl slunk down into her chair. "I know you Shinigami brainwashed him. I'm going to find someway to break that."

Kyoraku shook his head. "We didn't..."

Ukitake held up his head. "Let's say we did brainwash him. Do you really think he is going to trust you if he thinks you're attacking him."

"He wouldn't..." The girl looked away.

The white haired taicho let out a sigh. "Look... give it time. I'm sure he'll come around."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

Ukitake reached over and removed the cuffs.. "Perhaps not. We're going to let you go now. Only use your powers when you absolutely need to use them. They are a gift you know."

"A gift... yeah right." The girl stood up and didn't give them another look.

**M**

"Taicho... what was going through your head?" Rangiku sat in the office watching her small taicho stare out the door. The boy didn't seem to hear her and instead seemed preoccupied with other things. "Taicho..."

A white head of hair snapped towards her. A look of happiness appeared on his face, and yet she knew he shouldn't have anything to be happy about. "Yes Matsumoto. Will I be able to go back to my quarters soon?"

"They have to repair the floorboards just inside your doorway before you go back. I don't know how I'm going to get you back... all things considered. What though is going on in your head?"

"What's going on in my head?" The corners of Toshiro's mouth twisted up. His finger pointed at the door to the office. "I _think_... I can leave."

"What?" Rangiku blinked a couple of times in confusion."

"I can leave the office, I can leave my room. I think I can _leave_ and go outside."

"Taicho... we don't know that."

"What do you mean you don't know? I just did."

"And were you thinking straight?" The woman watched as the boy's smile fell and he scowled at her. A rather determined look came over his face and he headed to the door and paused. "See?"

She watched then as the boy stepped with both feet outside, then stepped back in. He held her hands out as his facial features twisted up with an expression of definite '_I told you so'_. When she didn't acknowledge what had occurred he went to stepping in and out of the room. She watched as he continued with this pattern only to find herself quite annoyed. "Taicho!"

"Yes..." The tone of voice the young taicho used made it clear that he didn't like being snapped at.

"Come over here. We need to talk. Sit in the chair across from me."

The boy nervously sat down as any child would when they were going to receive punishment. "What do we need to talk about? I can take on paperwork and other duties now, right?"

"Taicho..." The woman looked at her desk. "What were you thinking?"

"What do you mean? I told you what I was thinking."

"I mean when you chased after that girl. And don't you need some first aid and a change of clothes."

"What..." Toshiro's bright teal eyes blinked a couple of times. The adreniline began to leave his body and his skin began to pale. A hand clapped over the first degree burns on his shoulder, arm and neck. "I'm all right. I mean... I'm not saying I don't need treatment for my injuries, but I'll live."

She watched as his cheeks flushed up. "You aren't though very comfortable with your state of clothing."

Toshiro glanced away. "Not especially..." He looked at her with a smile and twinkle in his eyes. "Can I go? To go change now?"

"Taicho... you still haven't answered what you were thinking when Ukitake, the head taicho and I found you."

Toshiro blinked a couple of times. Words came out of his mouth without realizing it. "I was having fun." His face paled even more upon realizing what he had said. His hand slapped over his mouth for a few seconds before being lowered. "I'm sorry Matsumoto... I don't feel that was the wrong thing to say... but the look on your face says otherwise."

"Taicho... did you really enjoy trying to kill her?"

She watched as the boy looked at the ceiling. "Kill her... no... I guess the word for it was... play?" Toshiro looked down with a rather shocked look. "I was enjoying _playing_?"

Rangiku stared at him. "Taicho... that wasn't playing."

"Well..." The boy looked away as his left hand clutched the injuries on his right arm tighter despite the pain it caused. "Isn't that the only way she'd want to play with me? She doesn't really like me."

"Taicho... why are you so worried about her liking you?"

"I don't know." The boy looked at the ground. "The fact she hate me really bothers me. I thought I'd gotten used to people hating me, but this... it really hurts."

Rangiku watched as he pulled his legs up so that he could wrap his arms around them. "Taicho..." The woman took a deep breath. "Don't you think that your head is a bit messed up from all that happened. Why don't you focus on this Shinigami Kids Society and hold back to coming back to work."

Toshiro blinked a couple of times. "Do I? I don't really get along with those my age range. Except for Kurosaki's sisters. And Yamada I guess."

"You've got to."

"Why?" The boy took a deep breath. "Never mind. Madarame and Ayasegawa told me about the protests."

"What protests?"

"Dealing with the Quincy children. Why do adults like to treat children like monsters? It's not as if the children can help who they are."

Rangiku took a deep breath. "Well... sometimes children act like monsters despite the fact they should know better."

"Yes... but am I like that? Are all children like that?"

"No. Adults can be cruel taicho."

_Note – Here in ends the first part of Finding Friendship. When I originally planned Finding Friendship out I thought it would be one story much in the manner Lucanite's story is one story. As I planned the story out I found that it was better off broken up into multiple stories. The next part is Finding Friendship: Earth Shattering. There is also a side story AU as well._


End file.
